EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

 In order to promote and protect their core values ​​- human rights, democracy and the rule of law - the member states of the Council of Europe have developed an international treaty: the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

 They then became convinced that any violation of the requirements set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) could be brought to justice by creating a unique instrument: the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

 The court was founded in 1959. It examines complaints of human rights violations filed by individuals or groups against a member state, as well as complaints filed by one member state against another member state.

Purpose of the Court

 Contrary to popular belief, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is not a pan-European supreme court, but a specialized legal institution: based on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the Court determines whether a state has violated human rights. the applicant's rights - whether through the exercise of public authority as a whole, through legal proceedings or by court order.

 Anyone under the jurisdiction of a Council of Europe member state, even non-European citizens who believes that the state is violating their human rights, can lodge a complaint after exhausting all domestic remedies. Moreover, it does not matter at all whether the person who filed the complaint is a respected citizen or a lawfully convicted criminal, since the rights and freedoms specified in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are guaranteed to all people equally.

Judges

 Each member state has the right to send one judge to the court. Each judge is elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from a list of three candidates for a non-recurring nine-year term. The judges do not represent the interests of their countries of origin, but the interests of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

 The court hearings take place either in the Small Chamber with 7 judges or in the Grand Chamber with 17 judges.

Judgments of the Court

 If a court has found a member state guilty of a violation of human rights as defined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the violating state must:

• pay the applicant pecuniary damage in accordance with the orders of the court;
• eliminate the consequences of the violation;
• take the necessary steps to ensure that such a violation cannot be repeated in the future;
• publish the decision in the relevant national legal journals.

 The rulings of the court are made public. They are final and legally binding.

Execution of court judgments

 The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe monitors the execution of the judgments of the Court. It helps the State concerned find suitable measures to fulfill the requirements put forward by the Court. The obligation to remedy the consequences of human rights violations, as well as to prevent a recurrence of violations in the future, may lead to changes in the national legislation of the state concerned.

  Interim measures

 Sometimes, only immediate action can prevent serious and irreversible harm to people. Consequently, every person in a Council of Europe member state has the right to apply to the European Court of Human Rights for an interim measure. Most often, these requests relate to the suspension of pending expulsion or extradition because, for certain reasons, the person concerned fears death, imprisonment or torture upon arrival in the country of destination.

 The court considers each request on an individual basis and on a priority basis, taking into account all available information. Statistics show that only a very small number of requests were granted - 145 out of 1,570 (9.2%) in 2019 - since an interim measure is only taken if the court concludes that the applicant is facing a real threat if this measure does not apply.