On December 5, 2017, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers adopted a resolution to institute infringement proceedings against Azerbaijan due to the government’s failure to abide by the European Court of Human Rights’ May 2014 judgment in Mammadov v. Azerbaijan. In Mammadov, the Court held that Azerbaijan had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by detaining opposition blogger Ilgar Mammadov in order to punish him for his criticism of the government and ordered his unconditional release. The press release notes that through the resolution the Committee has formally asked the Court to determine whether Azerbaijan’s failure to implement the judgment constitutes a further violation of the Convention. In October 2017, the Committee adopted an interim resolution that provided Azerbaijan with notice and an opportunity to submit its views, which were appended to the December resolution. This is the first time the Council of Europe has triggered legal infringement proceedings against a state since the process was introduced in 2010.