European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is an international court located in Strasbourg, France and it was established on 21 January 1959, on the basis of Article 19 of the European Convention on Human Rights, a human rights treaty protecting civil and political rights.

The role of the Court is to ensure the compliance of the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe with the aforementioned Convention and its additional Protocols. The Court does not act on its own motion but rather decides by the virtue of individual or inter-state applications upon alleged violations of the treaty by a contracting state. It is also competent, at the request of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, to deliver advisory opinions on the interpretation of the Convention.

According to the Convention, the number of judges is equal to the number of the state parties. Each state nominates three candidates, from which the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decides upon one for a non-renewable nine-year term. The judges perform their duties on their indi-vidual capacity and do not represent any State.

Applications are examined in four formations: a) by a single judge, b) in a three-judge Committee, c) in a seven-judge Committee or exceptionally, d) in the Grand Chamber. Proceedings to the latter are initiated by the litigants after request of reconsideration of a case and are convened only if it is considered that sufficiently serious questions are raised. Judgments identifying violations are binding for the state concerned and their execution is monitored by the Committee of Ministers.

Through the case-law of the Court, the Convention constitutes a “living instrument”, reflective of the social changes that took place decades after its entry into force.