European Convention on Human Rights

Not to be confused with Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
For the court which enforces the convention, also referred to as ECHR, see European Court of Human Rights.
For other uses of "European Convention", see European Convention (disambiguation).

European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Parties to the convention
Signed4 November 1950
LocationRome
Effective3 September 1953
Parties46 Council of Europe member states
DepositaryCouncil of Europe Secretary General
LanguagesEnglish and French
Full text
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms at Wikisource

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms)[1] is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe,[2] the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are party to the convention and new members are expected to ratify the convention at the earliest opportunity.[3]

The convention established the European Court of Human Rights (generally referred to by the initials ECtHR). Any person who feels their rights have been violated under the convention by a state party can take a case to the court. Judgments finding violations are binding on the states concerned and they are obliged to execute them. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe monitors the execution of judgments, particularly to ensure payments awarded by the court appropriately compensate applicants for the damage they have sustained.[4]

The convention has sixteen protocols, which amend the convention framework.[5]

The convention has had a significant influence on the law in Council of Europe member countries[6] and is widely considered the most effective international treaty for human rights protection.[7][8]

  1. ^ European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights
  2. ^ The Council of Europe should not be confused with the Council of the European Union or the European Council.
  3. ^ Resolution 1031 (1994) on the honouring of commitments entered into by member states when joining the Council of Europe Archived 10 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ However, in their dissident opinions in the Nikolova case, judges Greve and Giovanni Bonello expressed preference for symbolic compensation ( " token " ) over moral compensation Buonomo, Giampiero (2002). "Caso Craxi: non-c'è spazio per complotti ma le norme processuali valgono una condanna all'Italia". Diritto&Giustizia Edizione Online. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. ^ "European Convention on Human Rights".
  6. ^ Andreadakis, S. (2013). "The European Convention on Human Rights, the EU and the UK: Confronting a Heresy: A Reply to Andrew Williams". European Journal of International Law. 24 (4): 1187–1193. doi:10.1093/ejil/cht063. Five decades later, it is undisputed that the ECHR has been successful in carrying out its mission, judging from its influence on the laws and social realities of the contracting parties, the extensive jurisprudence in the field of the protection of human rights, as well as the remarkable compliance with the ECtHR's judgments.
  7. ^ European Convention on Human Rights Guide for the Civil & Public Service (PDF) (Report). Irish Human Rights Commission. 2012. ISBN 978-0-9569820-7-0.
  8. ^ Helfer, Lawrence R. (1993). "Consensus, Coherence and the European Convention on Human Rights". Cornell International Law Journal. 26: 133.