European Court of Human Rights

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European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg
Established 1959 (initially)
1998 (permanent)
Jurisdiction 47 member states of the Council of Europe
Location Strasbourg, France
Authorized by European Convention on Human Rights
Decisions are appealed to Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights
Number of positions 47 judges in respect of 47 member states of the Council of Europe
Website http://echr.coe.int
President
Currently Jean-Paul Costa
Since 1998
Jurist term ends 2010

The European Court of Human Rights (French: Cour européenne des droits de l’homme) in Strasbourg is an international judicial body, established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states. The European Convention on Human Rights, or formally named Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, is a convention adopted by the Council of Europe. All 47 member states of the Council of Europe are parties to the Convention. Applications against Contracting Parties for human rights violations can be brought before the Court by other states, other parties or individuals.

History and structure

The Court was instituted as a permanent entity with full-time judges on 1 November 1998, replacing the then existing enforcement mechanisms, which included the European Commission of Human Rights (created in 1954) and the European Court of Human Rights, which had been created in 1959.

The new format of the Court was the result of the ratification of Protocol 11, an amendment to the Convention that was ratified in November 1998. The new full-time judges were subsequently elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

By the time Protocol No. 11 entered into force on 1 November 1998 establishing a full-time Court and opening up direct access for 800 million Europeans, the Court had delivered 837 judgments. By the end of 2005 it had delivered 5,968 judgments.

All member states of the Council of Europe are required to sign and ratify the Convention. The Court consists of a number of judges equal to the number of Contracting Parties, which currently stand at 47. Each judge is elected in respect of a Contracting Party by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Despite this correspondence, however, there are no nationality requirements for judges (e.g. a Swiss national may be elected in respect of Liechtenstein). Judges are assumed to be impartial arbiters, rather than representatives of any country. Judges are elected to six-year terms and may be re-elected.

The Court is divided into five "Sections", each of which consists of a geographic and gender-balanced selection of justices. The entire Court elects a President and five Section Presidents, two of whom also serve as Vice-Presidents; all terms last for three years. Each section selects a Chamber, which consists of the Section President and a rotating selection of six other justices. The Court also maintains a 17-member Grand Chamber, which consists of the President, Vice-Presidents, and Section Presidents, in addition to a rotating selection of justices from one of two balanced groups. The selection of judges alternates between the groups every nine months.

Procedure

Complaints of violations by member states are filed in Strasbourg, and assigned to a Section. Unmeritorious complaints are dismissed by a committee of three judges by a unanimous vote. Meritorious complaints are examined by a Chamber. Decisions of great importance may be appealed to the Grand Chamber. Any decision of the Court is binding on the member states and must be complied with[1], except if it consists of an advisory opinion[2]

It is the role of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to supervise the execution of Court judgments. This body cannot force states to comply, and the ultimate sanction for non-compliance is expulsion from the Council of Europe.

In 1999 the court had a backlog of 60,000 cases, growing to about 100,000 cases in 2007.[3][4] In early 2010 the court had a backlog of over 120,000 cases and a multi-year waiting list.[5] [6] [7] About 1 out of every 20 cases submitted to the court is considered admissible.[8] In 2007 the court issued 1,503 verdicts. At the current rate of proceedings, it would take 46 years for the backlog to clear.[9]

Judges

As of 23 June 2009 (in order of precedence):[10]

Name Country Position Elected Term Ends
Jean-Paul Costa France President 1998 2010
Christos Rozakis Greece Vice-President 1998 2010
Sir Nicolas Bratza United Kingdom Vice-President 1998 2010
Peer Lorenzen Denmark Section President 1998 2010
Françoise Tulkens Belgium Section President 1998 2010
Josep Casadevall Andorra Section President 1998 2010
Giovanni Bonello Malta Judge 1998 2010
Ireneu Cabral Barreto Portugal Judge 1998 2010
Corneliu Bîrsan Romania Judge 1998 2010
Karel Jungwiert Czech Republic Judge 1998 2010
Boštjan Zupančič Slovenia Judge 1998 2010
Nina Vajić Croatia Judge 1998 2010
Rait Maruste Estonia Judge 1998 2010
Kristaq Traja Albania Judge 1998 2010
Snejana Botoucharova Bulgaria Judge 1998 2010
Anatoly Kovler Russia Judge 1999 2011
Vladimiro Zagrebelsky Italy Judge 2001 2013
Elisabeth Steiner Austria Judge 2001 2013
Lech Garlicki Poland Judge 2002 2014
Elisabet Fura-Sandström Sweden Judge 2003 2015
Alvina Gyulumyan Armenia Judge 2003 2015
Khanlar Hajiyev Azerbaijan Judge 2004 2010
Ljiljana Mijović Bosnia and Herzegovina Judge 2004 2010
Renate Jaeger Germany Judge 2004 2010
Egbert Myjer Netherlands Judge 2004 2010
Sverre Erik Jebens Norway Judge 2004 2010
Davið Þór Björgvinsson Iceland Judge 2004 2010
Danutė Jočienė Lithuania Judge 2004 2010
Ján Šikuta Slovakia Judge 2004 2010
Dragoljub Popović Serbia Judge 2005 2011
Ineta Ziemele Latvia Judge 2005 2011
Mark Villiger Liechtenstein Judge 2006 2012
Isabelle Berro-Lefevre Monaco Judge 2006 2012
Päivi Hirvelä Finland Judge 2007 2013
Giorgio Malinverni Switzerland Judge 2007 2013
George Nicolaou Cyprus Judge 2008 2014
Luis López Guerra Spain Judge 2008 2014
András Sajó Hungary Judge 2008 2014
Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska Macedonia Judge 2008 2014
Ledi Bianku Albania Judge 2008 2014
Nona Tsotsoria Georgia Judge 2008 2014
Ann Power Ireland Judge 2008 2014
Zdravka Kalaydjieva Bulgaria Judge 2008 2014
Mihai Poalelungi Moldova Judge 2008 2014
Nebojša Vučinić Montenegro Judge 2008 2014
Kristina Pardalos San Marino Judge 2009 2015

The Plenary Court elects the Registrar and one or more Deputy Registrars. The Registrar is the head of the Registry, which performs legal and administrative tasks and drafts decisions and judgments on behalf of the Court. The Registrar and Deputy Registrar as of 4 January 2007[10] are: