The European Court of Human Rights is considered as the most significant and most effective system of supervision in the field of international protection of human rights. It involves a supranational ...mechanism which enables the individuals to achieve their right on the international level. This mechanism of individual applications should overcome the discrepancy between the goals of international protection of human rights and execution of human rights norms at the state and local level. Successful and fast implementation of its judgments on the national level is of great importance for the Court, because the credibility and legitimacy of this system of protection depends on it. This paper will present the most significant aspects of execution and implementation of the judgments of the Court. The role of certain organs of the Council of Europe: Committee of Ministers, Parliamentary Assembly and the Court, in the procedure of execution of judgments, will be analyzed. Additionally, there will be presented the various manners in which the judgments are implemented and executed.
Abstract
Whilst the mobilisation practices of human rights organisations before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) have amassed a significant volume of scholarship, the interest in their role ...in the post-judgement process pales in comparison. This article seeks to contribute to the reversal of this trend by shining a light on Rule 9 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers, which establishes an official avenue for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and national human rights institutions (NHRIs) to participate in the execution, as opposed to the litigation, of ECtHR decisions. Since its adoption in 2006, the procedure has led to 882 HRO communications and 346 government responses in 356 different cases. This article offers a qualitative empirical study of them. It argues that these organisations resort to activation, contextualisation and pragmatic strategies in pursuit of one overarching goal: preventing the premature closure of international supervision of a case.
This article considers a scarcely explored perspective in relation to the execution of judgments of the ECtHR, notably, the formal involvement of NGOs and NHRIs. Rule 9(2) of the Committee of ...Minister Rules’ allows NGOs and NHRIs to participate in the supervision process for the execution of the Court’s judgments by submitting reports (Communications) in which these actors review and assess domestic authorities’ performance with respect to judgment execution. On the basis of interviews with important stakeholders, this article provides an all-round user-based perspective of this Rule 9 mechanism and its perceived impact. Doing so elucidates whether the Rule 9 procedure allows NGOs and NHRIs to engage in the important cycle of reporting and pressuring for change, the conclusions of which are important in assessing if and how Rule 9 works to advance the execution of judgments of the ECtHR.
The annexation of Crimea to the Russian homeland has taken its toll on the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stripped the Russian Federation in 2014 of its right ...to vote and other rights of representation. In this study, the political and legal consequences of the “Russian crisis” are analyzed in detail, with special attention to the usurpation of power by the Assembly of the sanctioning competences of the Committee of Ministers. This crisis reflects, on the one hand, the constant anti-Russian attitude of old Europe, regardless of the political weight of Russia and its particularity, and, on the other hand, the dangerous internal tensions in this Organization, on the occasion of the amendment of that gross mistake.
La anexión de Crimea a la patria rusa ha hecho mella en el Consejo de Europa. La Asamblea Parlamentaria del Consejo de Europa despojó a la Federación de Rusia en 2014 de su derecho de voto y otros derechos de representación. En el presente estudio se analizan con detalle las consecuencias políticas y jurídicas de la “crisis rusa”, con especial atención a la usurpación de poder por parte de la Asamblea de las competencias sancionatorias del Comité de Ministros. Esta crisis refleja, por una parte, la constante actitud antirusa de la vieja Europa, al margen del peso político de Rusia y su particularidad y, por otra, las peligrosas tensiones internas en esta Organización, con ocasión de la enmienda de aquel craso error.
Since the end of the 1990s, the procedural practice of the European Court of Human Rights has changed as a result of formal reform measures and developments in the Court's case law. This change is ...mainly manifest in the fact that the Court is now moving in two directions, which are neither inherently connected nor mutually exclusive. First, the Court appears to be distancing itself from certain categories of applications in order to protect the efficient working of the system and, secondly, it seems to be gaining increasing influence over the execution of its judgments. This article discusses the reforms and case law developments which have shaped these two directions and contextualises the directions by outlining factors which help to explain why the reforms and developments have come about. It is then possible to answer the central question in this article, namely what impact the two directions in which the Court is travelling have on the position of the applicant and on how the Court, the states parties and the Committee of Ministers fulfil their tasks in the Convention system. After evaluating the changes per actor, the article characterises the nature of this change more generally. Additionally, the article points out which lessons can be drawn from the changes and their characterisation.
The European Convention on Human Rights (‘Convention’) provides that the Committee of Ministers shall supervise the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ (‘Court’) judgments. This article ...aims to address the question whether, despite what the Convention provides, the Court is involved in supervising the execution of its judgments. Additionally, this article addresses the question what the Court does when it is engaged in this exercise. In order to answer these two questions, four aspects of the Court's practice that are linked to the execution process are examined. These are the four aspects of interest: just-satisfaction judgments under Article 41 ECHR, follow-up cases concerning individual measures, follow-up cases concerning general measures and the pilot-judgment procedure. The analysis of these aspects will lead to the conclusion that the Court indeed engages in supervising execution, but also that this does not mean that the Court is taking on the Committee's task and that supervising execution has not become in any way part of the Court's day-to-day work.
The effectiveness and legitimacy of the Council of Europe can be undermined by the actions of Member States which fail to comply with their international law obligations of genuine cooperation with ...the organization. This article first briefly examines the practice of international organizations in applying sanctions such as expulsion and suspension to their members. It then explains why it is necessary to discuss potential sanctions that the Council can apply in the context of current controversies involving the Council and Member States. It will be argued that the scale and intensity of challenges distinguish the current state of affairs from other ‘problematic’ periods in the Council's history. It proceeds to outline the considerations that should be taken into account in deciding whether a Member State should be suspended or expelled. These considerations include the implications of sanctions on the legitimacy of the Council of Europe, the level of human rights protection and the financial stability of the organization.
Crearea procedurii hotărârii-pilot în sistemul Convenției Europene a Drepturilor Omului reflectă, inter alia, conștientizarea nevoii de a soluționa problema privind cauzele repetitive, care a servit ...drept factor la agravarea fenomenului „restanței” Curții de la Strasbourg. Deși necesitatea înființării acesteia era incontestabilă, procedura hotărârii-pilot a fost conturată în calitate de instituție juridică de-a lungul timpului. OUTLINING THE PILOT JUDGMENT PROCEDURE WITHIN THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS’ SYSTEM OVER TIMEThe creation of the pilot judgment procedure within the system of the European Convention on Human Rights reflects, inter alia, the acknowledgment of the need to solve the issue of repetitive cases, which served as a factor in aggravating the phenomenon of the Strasbourg Court’s “backlog”. Although the necessity of its establishment was undeniable, the pilot judgment procedure was outlined as a legal institution over time.
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