Reform of the European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights faces an exponential growth in the number of individual applications. This poses a serious risk for the effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) control system. Political recognition of this problem was expressed at the European Ministerial Conference on Human Rights (Rome, 3-4 November 2000), after which a reflection process on means of guaranteeing the continued effectiveness of the Court was launched within the Council of Europe.

Further Ministerial Conferences took place in Interlaken in February 2010 and Izmir, April 2011.

• Primary Source

Council of Europe: Press Release, No.145, 2010: Reform of the European Court of Human Rights: joint declaration reached in Interlaken https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=PR145(2010)&Language=lanEnglish&Ver=original&Site=DC&BackColorInternet=F5CA75&BackColorIntranet=F5CA75&BackColorLogged=A9BACE

BBC News, 19.2.10: Mammoth backlog prompts European rights court reforms http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8525524.stm

Deutsche Welle, 18.2.10: The European Court of Human Rights: A body under pressure http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5254314,00.html

Council of Europe: Conference on the future of the European Court of Human Rights, Interlaken (Switzerland), 18-19 February 2010 http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/topics/eu/euroc/chprce/inter.html

Council of Europe: Human rights: Reform of the European Court of Human Rights http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/Header/The+Court/Reform+of+the+Court/Conferences/

Website: European Court of Human Rights http://www.echr.coe.int/echr/

BBC News, 9.12.09: Russia prompts crisis of European human rights justice http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8402806.stm

ESO: Background information: Cameron seeks to reform human rights court, January 2012 http://www.europeansources.info/record/cameron-seeks-to-reform-human-rights-court/

---