Binding force and execution of judgments

1. The High Contracting Parties undertake to abide by the final judgment of the Court in any case to which they are parties.

2. The final judgment of the Court shall be transmitted to the Committee of Ministers, which shall supervise its execution.

3. If the Committee of Ministers considers that the supervision of the execution of a final judgment is hindered by a problem of interpretation of the judgment, it may refer the matter to the Court for a ruling on the question of interpretation. A referral decision shall require a majority vote of two-thirds of the representatives entitled to sit on the committee.

4. If the Committee of Ministers considers that a High Contracting Party refuses to abide by a final judgment in a case to which it is a party, it may, after serving formal notice on that Party and by decision adopted by a majority vote of two-thirds of the representatives entitled to sit on the committee, refer to the Court the question whether that Party has failed to fulfil its obligation under paragraph1. 5. If the Court finds a violation of paragraph 1, it shall refer the case to the Committee of Ministers for consideration of the measures to be taken. If the Court finds no violation of paragraph 1, it shall refer the case to the Committee of Ministers, which shall close its examination of the case.

Friendly settlements

1. At any stage of the proceedings, the Court may place itself at the disposal of the parties concerned with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the matter on the basis of respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto.

2. Proceedings conducted under paragraph 1 shall be confidential.

3. If a friendly settlement is effected, the Court shall strike the case out of its list by means of a decision which shall be confined to a brief statement of the facts and of the solution reached.

4. This decision shall be transmitted to the Committee of Ministers, which shall supervise the execution of the terms of the friendly settlement as set out in the decision.

Execution measures must first put an end to the violation and remedy, as far as possible, its negative consequences for the applicant.

This implies the payment of any sum awarded by the Court as just satisfaction or agreed between the parties in a friendly settlement. Default interest is due in case of late payment.

When mere monetary compensation cannot adequately erase the consequences of a violation, the Committee of Ministers makes sure that the authorities take any other individual measures which may be required to remedy the violation. The judgments themselves contain on occasion additional recommendations.

• Restoration of contacts (subject to the best interest of the child) between children and parents unduly separated from them (e.g. in case of children placed in foster care or kidnapped by the other parent)
• Reopening of unfair criminal proceedings
• Revocation of expulsion orders that would have exposed the applicants to risks of torture or ill-treatment, or life threatening circumstances in the country of destination

Execution of judgments also requires general measures to prevent violations similar to those found by the Court (whether through changes of legislation, case law or through other kinds of measures). Ensuring the effectiveness of domestic remedies is an important concern.

Where domestic authorities give direct effect to the Court's judgments and jurisprudence, publication and dissemination of the judgments, where necessary translated and commented, is frequently sufficient to achieve necessary changes and to ensure effective domestic remedies.

• Introduction of effective remedies against excessive length of court proceedings
• Removal of discrimination against children born out of wedlock (e.g. in inheritance matters)
• Adoption of legislation to prevent arbitrary recourse to telephone-tapping
• Lifting of undue restrictions on journalists' freedom of expression