The European Convention on Human Rights

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. The Convention was drafted under the auspices of the Council of Europe, an international organization composed of 21 West European states which was formed in 1949 as the result of the first post-war attempt at unifying Europe.

As amended by Protocol 11, the Convention consists of three parts. The main rights and freedoms are contained in Section I, which consists of Articles 2 to 18. Section II (Articles 19 to 51) sets up the Court and its rules of operation. Section III contains various concluding provisions.

The Convention is concerned mainly with civil and political rights. The Convention defined a set of fundamental individual rights. The rights included in the Convention include the right to life, the right to liberty and security of person, the right not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, not to be required to perform forced or compulsory labour, the right to a fair hearing, to respect for private life, to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to freedom of expression and assembly and free elections. These, and other provisions of the ECHR are called Articles.

The parties to the Convention are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Liechtenstein is a member of the Council of Europe but not a party to the Convention.

Ukraine has signed both the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The European Court of Human Rights was established by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It was set up in Strasbourg in 1959. Only states which are parties to the Convention and the European Commission of Human Rights have the right to bring a case before the Court.

The European Court of Human Rights is composed of twenty-one judges, one for each member state. Occasionally all judges sit on a case, but usually cases are heard by a panel of no more than seven. The hearings are oral. In due course the court pronounces in public on whether or not it finds the Convention has been violated. Usually half a dozen such cases get heard by the court each year.

6. Word study: Key Terms