The Role of the European Court of Human Rights

There has been a lot of talk in the media about the spectre of the European Union, about British Sovereignty and about fighting rule from abroad. For the purpose of reading this article I need you to forget about all of it, as the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is a different issue to who decides the length and shape of our bananas!

The Court itself was started in 1959, based on principles set out in the European Convention On Human Rights . It is based in Strasbourg and considers cases initiated by organisations, states and individuals against any country which has signed up to the convention; namely, most of the European Nations.

It is run by the The Council of Europe; the human rights body. Any country that has a decision against it must comply with the ruling of the Court, although the Court itself cannot enforce anything. Essentially the Country is bound by the fact that it is a member of the European Union .

Who Runs it?

The Court consists of 46 Judges, one for each country that has signed the European Human Rights Convention; they are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to serve 6 year terms. They may come from all the different countries but they do not represent their countries’ interests in the court, they are individuals who must be completely impartial.

What Sort of Cases?

The cases the court hears are many and varied, ranging from discrimination to the mistreatment of prisoners and from human rights abuses to improper trial conduct.

The majority of the member states (including the UK) have already adopted the principles of the convention into their own laws, so the European Court will only get involved when every other domestic legal angle has been tried.

Who Can Bring a Case?

Basically anyone, but you must be able to prove that you have been a direct victim of a violation of your human rights and you will not be able to bring a case against an individual or a private body.

So is it Just a Last Resort?

It could be seen as such, but if you are bringing an action against the UK Government for an alleged breach of human rights then it is comforting to know that the ECtHR is there as an independent arbiter.

The ECtHR has been able to hear complaints about the British Government for more than 50 years but it is only since the appearance of the Human Rights Act that British lawyers have been fully aware of the ability to appeal against domestic decisions; however this is a court of final appeal and their decision is final.

What About the European Court of Justice?

The European Court of Justice is the highest court in the European Union; it does not deal with actions regarding Human Rights, it deals with the administration of EU Law and it can overrule judgements made in national courts.

So the ECtHR is a Good Thing?

Absolutely. It is all very well for a country to sign up the Convention but if there is no outside port of call for redress then surely it is just an exercise in futility? Despite the fact that they cannot enforce their rulings, they can show the member state to be hypocritical on the European stage; this could severely damage inter-state relations and it makes the rulings of the ECtHR much more than mere blustering from another country. The ECtHR is there to ensure that our religious and civil rights are not abused by our Government, and that, irrespective of the circumstances, we are treated as human beings.