European Court of Human Rights

In 1953, a new body appeared in the world judicial practice, which later became the European Court. Its jurisdiction was based on the European Convention on Human Rights. It proclaimed the fundamental human rights and freedoms. What was the European Court of Human Rights before, and what has become today, consider in the article.

History of occurrence

Initially, the Convention was protected by three bodies, which included the Committee of Ministers, the Court Commission and the European Court of Human Rights itself and the Secretariat, as a subsidiary body.

The Convention was signed by 47 member countries, and therefore the main task of the above-mentioned bodies was to monitor compliance with its norms. This task is solved by examining and resolving complaints that can be submitted:

• Individuals;
• Group of persons;
• Non-governmental organizations;
• Participating countries.

Initially, the complaints were considered by the Commission, and with a positive decision, the case was referred to the European Court of Human Rights, where the final decision was taken. With a negative outcome, the Committee of Ministers was involved in the examination of the case.

In 1994, the system changed, and complaints with a positive outcome were independently handed over by the applicants to the court.

In 1998, the structure changed - the European Court of Human Rights and the Commission were merged into one body.

Jurisdiction

Despite the fact that the Convention was signed by 47 countries, the European Court of Human Rights is not for them the highest court. Therefore he:

• Does not cancel a judgment that has already been taken by a national court or other body of state power of a participating country;
• Does not give instructions to legislative bodies;
• Does not exercise control over national legislation and bodies that control them;
• Does not give orders for measures with legal consequences.

The European Court of Justice according to its competence:

• A complaint about the existence of a violation of law;
• Awards the losing side to compensate the winning party, in the form of monetary compensation, material damage, moral damage and costs of litigation.

The long-term practice of the court does not know cases of non-fulfillment of the decisions it has taken. This is partly due to the fact that non-compliance can lead to suspension of membership and expulsion from the European Council. Execution of court decisions is controlled by the Committee of Ministers.

What is the competence of the European Court?

Since the jurisdiction of the European Court is based on the Convention, the competences emanate from it. So, she can:

• Interpret the Convention, and earlier decisions at the request of the Committee of Ministers, and give advisory opinions that are not related to the examination of cases;
• Consider both individual and collective interstate complaints directed against the countries of the European Union and the Council of Europe;
• To recognize the fact of violation of the applicant's right and award him, in case of a win, compensation;
• To establish the fact of the violation of law in the country, as a mass phenomenon and oblige it to eliminate the shortcoming.

Structure and composition

The judges consist of 47 people - on the composition of the countries that signed the document. Each judge is elected for 9 years and can not be re-elected.

The election of a judge is a function of the Parliamentary Assembly, which elects one of the three candidates from the list submitted by the participating country.

The staff of the Secretariat includes 679 people, among employees 62 - citizens of Russia. In addition to the administrative and technical staff, there is also a staff of lawyers and translators.

History of Russia in the European Court.

The Russian Federation signed the Convention in 1998 on May 5. Prior to this date and up to the present, the Constitutional Court has been dealing with human rights in the Russian Federation. The European Court has a number of differences from it. Which ones?

The European Court operates under the Convention, and the Constitutional Court acts in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Courts have different regulatory bodies - the European Court is interethnic, and the Constitutional Court is national.

According to the Constitutional Court, acts enacted unconstitutionally, or their separate provisions, must be changed, according to the federal law. The European Court, on the contrary, can not change the decisions taken by the domestic court, this is not in accordance with the Convention.

But, despite the differences, none of these ships is higher above the other.

The first judge from Russia was Anatoly Kovler (1998-2012). He was replaced by Dmitry Dedov, who is currently the judge.

According to statistics, Russia ranks first in the number of complaints submitted to the European Court.

Of the cases examined before 2010, 862 Russian cases in 815 violations were found. The court ordered to take measures of a general nature, which led to changes in the penitentiary structure. At present, some aspects of legal proceedings are subject to reformation.

But this does not mean that the Russian Federation has transferred part of its sovereignty to the European Court. Therefore, Russia will not implement decisions that run counter to its Constitution.

Conditions for filing complaints

The complaint submitted to the European Court must comply with the following conditions:

• Its subject can only be the rights and freedoms specified in the Convention and its Protocols;
• Plaintiffs, a group of persons, non-governmental organizations ;
• In the application the plaintiff must indicate the articles of the Convention according to which his rights and freedoms and his personal data are violated: name, date of birth, place of residence and occupation;
• The complaint will be considered if it is directed against a country that has ratified the Convention and the Protocols and the events described in the application have occurred after ratification;
• The respondent can not be a private person or organization;
• The deadline for filing a complaint should not exceed 6 months after consideration by the competent authority;
• This period shall be terminated upon admission to the European Court after the first written request or the completed form by the applicant;
• A complaint is considered admissible if the applicant has exhausted existing domestic remedies.

The case of the European Court is considered from 3 to 5 years.

Where can I file a complaint?

If the application meets all of the specified requirements, then it should be formalized in the form. It can be downloaded together with the Instruction for filling c echr.coe.int.

The form must be printed, filled out and sent to the European Court of Human Rights at the address below.

The document should contain the following information:

• Full name, date of birth, citizenship and address of the plaintiff;
• The name of the Party or Parties against whom the complaint is lodged;
• Laconic and clear statement of the facts, alleged violations or violations of the Convention clauses and their reasoning, as well as a statement on compliance with the conditions of admissibility.

If there is a representative, then the form should indicate:

• His full name, address, telephone number, fax and e-mail address;
• Date and signature of the applicant.

Correctly processed complaint is sent to the address below.

Whatever the decision of the Court, the applicant will be notified of his decision by letter.