European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights
Map
48°35′48″N 07°46′27″E / 48.59667°N 7.77417°E / 48.59667; 7.77417
Established
  • 1959 (initially)
  • 1998 (permanent)
Jurisdiction46 member states of the Council of Europe
LocationStrasbourg, France
Coordinates48°35′48″N 07°46′27″E / 48.59667°N 7.77417°E / 48.59667; 7.77417
Composition methodAppointed by member states and elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Authorised byEuropean Convention on Human Rights
Appeals toGrand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights
Number of positions46 judges, one from each of the 46 member states
Websiteechr.coe.int
President
CurrentlyMarko Bošnjak
Since2016 (judge), 2024 (President)
European Court of Human Rights building

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court,[1] is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the human rights enumerated in the convention or its optional protocols to which a member state is a party. The court is based in Strasbourg, France.

The court was established in 1959 and decided its first case in 1960 in Lawless v. Ireland. An application can be lodged by an individual, a group of individuals, or one or more of the other contracting states. Aside from judgments, the court can also issue advisory opinions. The convention was adopted within the context of the Council of Europe, and all of its 46 member states are contracting parties to the convention. The court's primary means of judicial interpretation is the living instrument doctrine, meaning that the Convention is interpreted in light of present-day conditions.

International law scholars consider the ECtHR to be the most effective international human rights court in the world.[2][3][4][5][6] Nevertheless, the court has faced challenges with verdicts not implemented by the contracting parties.

  1. ^ Anagnostou, Dia (30 April 2013). European Court of Human Rights: Implementing Strasbourg's Judgments on Domestic Policy. Edinburgh University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7486-7058-1.
  2. ^ von Staden, Andreas (2018). Strategies of Compliance with the European Court of Human Rights: Rational Choice Within Normative Constraints. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-8122-5028-2.
  3. ^ Ľalík, Tomáš (2011). Understanding the Binding Effect of the Case-Law of the ECtHR in Domestic Legal Order. International Conference: Effectiveness of the European System of Protection of Human Rights. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1951830.
  4. ^ Helfer, L. R. (2008). "Redesigning the European Court of Human Rights: Embeddedness as a Deep Structural Principle of the European Human Rights Regime". European Journal of International Law. 19 (1): 125–159. doi:10.1093/ejil/chn004.
  5. ^ Emmert, Frank; Carney, Chandler (2017). "The European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights vs. The Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms - A Comparison". Fordham International Law Journal. 40 (4).
  6. ^ Goldhaber, Michael (2008). A People's History of the European Court of Human Rights. Rutgers University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8135-4461-8.

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