64.
Considering the foregoing, the Court holds that the provision of notice is
compulsory in cases of withdrawal of the declaration under Article 34(6) of the
Protocol.
65.
Regarding the period of notice, the Court is inspired by two main practices which
converge to the minimum requirement of one year. The first example is the
practice of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as provided in Article 78
of the American Convention on Human Rights and applied in the lvcher
Bronstein case referred to earlier. The second illustration is the notice period
provided for pursuant to Article 56(2) of the Vienna Convention.
66.
In light of the foregoing and in the view of the Court, a notice period of one year
shall apply to the withdrawal of the Respondent's declaration.
D.
67.
Legal effects of the withdrawal
The Court considers that the legal effects of the withdrawal are two-fold. On the
one hand, and considering that a notice period of one year applies, the act of
withdrawal will have effect only after the expiry of that period. As a
consequence, the Court holds that the withdrawal of the Respondent's
declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol shall take effect after a period of
one year, that is, from 1 March 2017.
68.
On the other hand, the Parties have raised the issue of the possible effect of
withdrawal on pending cases. In the view of the Court, an act of the Respondent
cannot divest the Court of jurisdiction it had to hear the matter. This position is
supported by the legal principle of non-retroactivity which stipulates that new
rules apply only to future situations. The Court therefore holds that the
Respondent's notification of intention of withdrawal has no legal effect on cases
pending before the Court.
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