Cabinet Laurent Hincker
THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The European Court of Human Rights replaced the former European Commission and the Court of Human Rights. This new and unique organization was established when the Protocol n°11 of the European Agreement of Human Rights took effect on November 1, 1998.
As an international and European structure, this Court is different from national courts in several ways :.
First, each signatory Nation, which includes all people living on their territory, recognizes the set of rights defined by the European Convention of Human Rights. Every Court decision focuses on the precise definitions of these rights.
Citizens of all signatory countries can then benefit from these rights and refer to them in front of the Court. The individual will then accuse the Nation which did not respect these rights.
Human rights do not apply to the various practical aspects of daily life as the national laws do. Instead they guarantee to each person the right to live under conditions which respects his dignity whether it is within the family, in his relationships with others, or in his relationship with the State and the legal system.
European Human Rights laws also differ from other international laws, and the European Court differs from other international courts. Before the European Court, an individual can blame a Nation for it's malfunctioning. Every person is subject to European international law which is not generally the case.
The Council of Europe consists of 41 member states, all signatory of the Convention today. Thus the Court also has the role of " creating " laws which can be understood in each of these countries. By doing this, the result is unique to this Court and is far reaching by jurisprudence.
In addition, the Court's objectives are unique because they aim at promoting and improving Human Rights in Europe. Consequently, an individual, by filing an application before the Court, takes an active part in fulfilling these objectives.