The future of the European Court of Human Rights

The Council of Europe has launched a public consultation on the longer-term future of Europe’s human rights system, based on the European Convention on Human Rights and the European court in Strasbourg.

It has asked for submissions from individuals and organisations on any aspect of the convention system, including:

• Future challenges to the convention and the court
• The role of the court in helping to protect and interpret individual rights
• Possible reforms to help cut the backlog of cases at the court
• The procedure for implementing court judgments and the role of national authorities
• Payment of compensation to applicants

The consultation follows on from the 2012 Brighton Conference on the future of the European Court of Human Rights.

A report on the consultation findings will be submitted to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers by 15th April 2015.