State Liability for Non-Pecuniary Damages in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

Non-pecuniary damages are a form of just satisfaction that the ECtHR may award if a violation of protected rights is found. These damages can be claimed by individuals, groups of persons, non-governmental organizations and states, whereby the awarded amount must be distributed to individual victims. However, for the Court to award compensation for non-pecuniary damage, several requirements must be met. The Court has awarded compensation for non-pecuniary damage on several grounds, such as pain, stress, anxiety, frustration, embarrassment, humiliation, and loss of reputation. Unfortunately, the criteria for determining the amounts of compensation for moral damage are still not clear and precise, so they have been determined by the Court on an equitable basis, taking into account its case-law standards.