European Court of Human Rights

• 02.05.2015, 14:42
•  Europe,  World,  Info

On January 28, 2015 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held a Grand Chamber hearing on the case of Perinçek vs. Switzerland. In the case Armenia was represented as the third party by Geoffrey Robertson QC and Amal Clooney.  During the session all parties presented their position and arguments and now wait for the Court's decision, which will probably be known in 6-8 months.

Taking into consideration the increasing interests towards the ECHR, which is also related to the case presented above, brief information about the structure, jurisdiction, decisions and their legal and political consequences of ECHR will be presented. 

The European Court of Human Rights is a body of the Council of Europe and is based in Strasbourg, France. The Court's task is to ensure Council of Europe member states' protection and respect of the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. This is carried out based on complaints submitted by individuals, in some cases by States. The jurisdiction of the ECHR, in accordance with Article 32 of the European Convention on Human Rights, applies to all matters concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention and the Protocols thereto, which are referred to it as provided in Articles 33, 34, 46 and 47. The final decisions of the Court are binding for the member states.

The number of the judges in the Court is 47, one from each Council of Europe member state that has verified the European Convention on Human Rights. They hear cases as individuals and do not represent their State. The judges of ECHR are elected by OSCE for a 6-year term. The retiring age of judges is 70.

The official languages of the Court are English and French, but the applications can be submitted in any language of the member states. In ECHR the cases are examined by the Chamber of seven judges or by the Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The case before being examined should satisfy the Court's admission standards that become stricter over time due to the large number of applications received.

The application can be considered inadmissible by ECHR if

1. all domestic remedies have not been exhausted (Article 35.1);
2. six-month period has been violated (Article 35.1);
3. the application submitted is anonymous (Article 35.2 (a));
4. the application submitted is substantially the same as a matter that has already been examined by the Court (Article 35.2 (b));
5. the application submitted has already been submitted to another procedure of international investigation or settlement and contains no relevant new information (Article 35.2 (b));
6. the application submitted is an abuse of the right of individual application.

In case admission criteria are met, the case is being examined on merits. If there is a disagreement with the judgments of the Chamber, the respondent state can appeal that judgment in the Grand Chamber of 17 judges, the judgments of which are final and binding for the member states. It is the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe which supervises the execution of the judgments. Failure to implement the judgments of the Court can result in serious political consequences for the states including depriving them of the right of membership in the Council of Europe.