The long-term effectiveness of the human rights system relies on the proper and timely execution of judgments made by the European Court of Human Rights at national level. Responsibility for carrying out the Court‘s judgments lie with the member state concerned, which undertakes to abide by a decision when it becomes part of the European Convention on Human Rights. The task of supervising whether this is done is carried out by the Committee of Ministers, aided by the Department for the Execution of Judgments. Maintaining the system’s effectiveness also relies on close co-operation with the relevant bodies and authorities at domestic and international level, and making sure that human rights challenges or gaps are addressed in a timely way.
 

The work of the Department for the Execution of Judgments includes supporting states through on-going dialogue as to what they need to do to ensure that victims of violations obtain appropriate redress and/or that measures are carried out to prevent similar violations occurring in the future. This can include different forms of targeted support such as advice of a technical and legal nature, including in the form of workshops, round tables, training courses and study visits.

NGOs play an important role in the execution of judgments and they are entitled to share information with the Committee of Ministers under rule 9.1 of the Committee of Ministers’ Rules. The procedure for doing so can be found here.

 

 

Effectiveness of the ECHR System at national and European level

 

The European Convention on Human Rights has made an extraordinary contribution to protecting and promoting human rights and the rule of law in Europe and plays a central role in maintaining democratic security and improving good governance. Making sure that it is effectively implemented at national level, especially when it comes to systemic and structural human rights problems, remains the principal challenge.
 

The Council of Europe’s legally binding human rights texts, the case law of the Court and the findings of monitoring bodies provide a means to achieve this. Its transversal and multidisciplinary approach includes standard-setting work, through which the Organisation provides guidance in response to challenges posed to human rights in European societies, and targeted co-operation programmes which support domestic authorities in addressing the issues raised by the Court’s judgments and by other Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms.

Steering Committee for Human Rights - CDDH

The CDDH carries out intergovernmental work on human rights and advises the Committee of Ministers.

 Focus 2022-2025

Inter-state and conflict-related cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights, national measures to prevent and remedy violations, accession of the European Union to the court, human rights and the environment, trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation, human rights in situation of crises, human rights and business, human rights and artificial intelligence

Civil society involvement

  • Participant: Conference of INGOs (CINGO)
  • Observers
  • Consultation with civil society, either through direct participation in their meetings, or through dedicated hearings or written consultations

Creating forums and networks between policy makers, the legal and justice professions and civil society is at the core of co-operation work. Civil society with specific expertise in justice and human rights both benefit and contribute to discussions about the functioning of the justice system and protection of human rights. Civil society may be directly involved as a partner, beneficiary, target group or expert.

NGOs can benefit from the HELP Programme (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals), which plays a significant role in supporting member states in implementing the Convention and executing the Court’s judgments. HELP human rights online courses are available for free. Skills covered include bioethics, environment, data protection, violence against women, fair trial or reasoning of judgments.

The Council of Europe collaborates closely with individual national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in all areas of activity, ranging from human rights compliant business practices to torture prevention. This is organised according to how they are set up in their national systems and is not limited to Council of Europe member states, but extends beyond, covering neighbourhood countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.

The Council of Europe also works closely with regional NHRI networks, such as the European Network of NHRIs (ENNHRI). ENNRHI was closely involved in work that resulted in the adoption of recommendations on the development and strengthening of effective, pluralist and independent national human rights institutions and strengthening the protection and promotion of civil society space in Europe.

NHRIs play an important role in the system of execution of Court judgments carried out by the Committee of Ministers.

The Committee of Ministers has made recommendations, drawn up in close co-operation with civil society. They call on member states to ensure that their national laws and practices comply with clear principles, and to regularly evaluate national measures designed to strengthen the space for civil society. A handbook called Civil Society and Human Rights explains the three recommendations in detail.

More information on co-operation in the field of justice and human rights is available here and you can make contact here.

Human rights education for legal professionals - HELP

Legal professionals who are at the forefront of human rights protection must know the European human rights standards to apply them effectively. This is done through the HELP online courses that cover a range of human rights topics. The main objective of the courses is to enhance the capacity of judges, lawyers and prosecutors in all Council of Europe member states and beyond to apply European human rights standards in their daily work.

HELP online courses can be tailored to the different needs of countries, institutions and professionals. Since 2015, other professionals such as court staff, prison or probation officers or health practitioners have become increasingly interested in accessing HELP courses. NGOs can also benefit from any of the 40 HELP courses by either encouraging their staff or beneficiaries to take them or promoting their use. NGOs can assess the completion of HELP courses by requesting their staff or beneficiaries to present self-generated e-certificate upon completion of any given course.

In January 2022 the HELP online platform had more than 90 000 active users.

The Council of Europe HELP e-learning platform courses are free and open to anyone who creates an account. They offer the highest quality as they have been developed with experts, including lawyers from the European Court of Human Rights. Partners such as the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), UNHCR and OSCE/ODIHR also contribute.

You can make contact with HELP through the website.

 

Death Penalty

 

 

Abolition of the death penalty remains high on the Council of Europe’s political agenda. For the Council of Europe, abolition does not stop at Europe’s borders.

 

The Council of Europe has created a death penalty free zone in its 46 member states. It has been more than a quarter of a century since the last execution in 1997.

In the early 1980s, the Council of Europe became a pioneer for the abolition of capital punishment, considering it to be a grave violation of human rights. The organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly gradually persuaded governments to help Europe become the first region in the world to permanently outlaw the death penalty. The prohibition of the death penalty has also become a precondition for membership since the 1990s.

In 1983, the Council of Europe adopted the first legally binding instrument providing for the unconditional abolition of the death penalty in peacetime: Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This text is currently ratified by all 46 member States.

In 2002, the Council of Europe adopted Protocol No. 13 to the ECHR concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances, in other words also in time of war or of imminent threat of war. Reservations to and derogations from the Protocol are not possible. The Protocol entered into force on 1 July 2003. It has to date been signed and ratified by 45 member States.

The European Court of Human Rights has developed a significant caselaw on the abolition of the death penalty, relating in particular to cases of extradition : see the information document (factsheet) about the abolition of the death penalty.

At the Reykjavik Summit, held on 16-17 May 2023, it was decided to strengthen the Council of Europe’s work on the abolition of death penalty (the Reykjavik Declaration recalls that “the Council of Europe has played a crucial role to ensure that Europe is a death penalty-free zone” and states that “it should pursue the fight against the reintroduction of the death penalty, and in favour of its universal abolition, in all places and in all circumstances”). 

To know more about the main activities and projects of the Council of Europe on the abolition of the death penalty, which involve numerous interactions with the civil society : Abolition of the death penalty (coe.int)

 

Prevention of Torture and Other Forms of Ill- Treatment (CPT)

 

 

The prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, set out in article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, is an absolute human right from which there can be no derogation. Respect for a person’s physical and mental integrity lies at the core of human rights protection and every effort must be made by states to ensure people deprived of their liberty are not ill-treated.
 

The work to prevent torture and other forms of ill treatment is carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), an independent, non-judicial and proactive control mechanism with a preventive mandate.

The CPT organises visits to places of detention to assess how people deprived of their liberty are treated. These places include prisons, juvenile detention centres, police stations, holding centres for immigration detainees, psychiatric hospitals and social care homes. CPT delegations have unlimited access to places of detention and the right to move inside such places without restriction. They interview people deprived of their liberty in private and communicate freely with anyone who can provide information.

The CPT is a non-judicial body, and is not empowered to take up individual complaints, which are handled by the European Court of Human Rights

Before carrying out a periodic or ad hoc visit to a country, the CPT usually consults various civil society organisations and human rights defenders. During visits, meetings with representatives of international and/or national non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders are an integral part of the programme.

After each visit, the CPT transmits a confidential report which contains the CPT’s findings and specific recommendations to the state concerned. The national authorities are requested to provide a response to the issues raised in the report. Visit reports and government responses are published only at the request of the national authorities (on a case-by-case basis or through a so-called “automatic publication procedure”).

Individuals and organisations with relevant information concerning the situation of people deprived of their liberty in member states are invited to inform the CPT through the contact page.

 

New challenges to human rights in European societies

 

The Council of Europe plays a crucial role in developing a coordinated response to new challenges posed to human rights in European societies. In recent years, standard-setting work has addressed a wide range of issues, including human rights and the environment, human rights in situations of crisis, human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation, human rights and business, and civil society and national human rights institutions.

Building on the common minimum standards set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted through the caselaw of the European Court of Human Rights, the Steering Committee for Human Rights prepares reports and studies on new and emerging challenges to human rights and develops binding and non-binding instruments intended to harmonise national law and practice and ensure that full and effective enjoyment of individual rights is maintained.

The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights protection organisation. It does this through its most important legal treaty - the European Convention on Human Rights - and the work of the European Court of Human Rights, along with systems for making sure that countries respect the Court judgments.  

But there is so much more. The Council of Europe has designed specific ways of protecting vulnerable groups:  children, women, Roma, LGBTI people, migrants, minorities. It works to stop violence against women, including domestic violence; to create gender equality, to guard against fake medicine and to make sure that working conditions and social rights are fair and freely available. It is also important for us to make sure human rights defenders can work independently and without harassment, that journalists can report free from undue pressure and violence, that prisoners and others deprived of their liberty are properly cared for and free from the shadow of torture, and that technology such as artificial intelligence or data collection does not breach our rights.