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General presentation

Information documents

The Court in brief

Court In Brief

The Court in brief brochure is an introduction to the Court and the key dates in its history. It gives a short summary of the Convention and its guarantees and prohibitions.

 

The Court in brief

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European Convention - A living instrument

The European Convention on Human Rights – A living instrument

This is an educational publication on the Convention which presents the Convention, its development and its Articles and Protocols in an easy-to-read style.

 

The European Convention on Human Rights – A living instrument

Other languages

Useful link

The ECHR in 50 questions

The ECHR in 50 questions answers frequently asked questions on the Convention and the Court.

 

The ECHR in 50 questions

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Questions and Answers

The Questions and Answers are provided for the benefit of potential applicants.

 

 

Questions and Answers

Other languages

Your application to the ECHR

This pamphlet, describing the various stages of the procedure by which the Court examines an application, is intended to answer the main questions that applicants might ask, especially once their application has been sent to the Court.

Your application to the ECHR

Other languages

Simplified Convention

Simplified Convention

This simplified version of selected Articles from the Convention tends to present the main rights and freedoms.

 


Simplified Convention

Other languages

The ECHR in facts and figures 2020

Cover Facts and figures 2020

This document provides different statistical results about the cases examined by the Court during the year 2020.

 

 

Facts & Figures 2020

Overview 1959-2020

Cover Overview 1959-2020

This Overview presents various comparative statistics concerning judgments and violations for the period 1959-2020.

 

 

Overview 1959-2020

Videos

Film on the Court

Aimed at a wide audience, the film explains how the Court works, describes the challenges faced by it and shows the scope of its activity through examples from the case-law.

 

English 

All languages

           

Video on the Convention

European Convention on Human Rights Video Screenshot

A short video presenting the main rights and freedoms in the Convention. Aimed at a wide range of viewers, this video is currently available in 38 languages. The Court wishes to encourage initiatives aimed at including this video in civic education programmes. Video Other languages

Video on 60 years of the Convention

Sixty Years video screenshot

Since its adoption on 4 November 1950, the Convention has been supplemented by several Protocols which have added to the rights and freedoms laid down in the original text. Through its case-law, the Court has had the opportunity to interpret the rights and freedoms defined in the Convention. In doing so, it has made the Convention a living instrument capable of applying to situations that did not exist or were inconceivable at the time it was drafted. As a result of the Court's interpretation, the Convention is a resolutely modern treaty that can adapt to contemporary social issues.

 

Video

Video on lodging an application

Video on lodging an application

This video is a tutorial explaining how the application form must be completed in order to be examined by the Court.

Video

Other languages

Video on admissibility conditions*

Admissibility Video Screenshot

The Court has launched a short video in English and French on the criteria for admissibility, produced with the support of the Principality of Monaco. The video, which is approximately three minutes long, is aimed at the general public and sets out the main conditions required in order to apply to the Court; failure to satisfy these conditions is the reason why the vast majority of applications are rejected.

Video (old version)

Other languages (old versions)

* A new video on the admissibility conditions following the entry into force of the Protocol No. 15 will be available shortly.

Videos on the ECHR's case-law

Four short videos, four minutes each, present some of the aspects of the case-law of the ECHR. Aimed at a wide range of viewers, as well as at the law professionals, these videos are available in both official languages of the organisation. 

Case-law of the ECHR and Hate Speech

Case-law of the ECHR and conditions of detention

Case-law of the ECHR and surveillance at work

Case-law of the ECHR and the Istanbul Convention

Human Rights building

The Court is identifiable across the world by the symbol of the building in which it is housed: the Human Rights Building.

46 judges and about 650 Registry staff work there to ensure respect for the human rights of 700 million Europeans in the 46 member States of the Council of Europe that have ratified the Convention.

 

More info