Thursday, 30 June 2022

what is the european court of human rights?

The ECHR has been in the news a lot lately.

Russia has left the court:

The Russian parliament has passed a pair of bills ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the country. Tuesday’s move formalised the broken ties between Russia and the Council of Europe, the continent’s foremost human rights body.

Russian MPs vote to quit European Court of Human Rights | Human Rights News | Al Jazeera

Russian parliament votes to break with European Court of Human Rights | Reuters

European court tells Russia to ensure two Britons do not face death penalty | Reuters

Ukraine's richest man sues Russia at Europe's top human rights court | Reuters

And the UK wants to leave the court: 

Ministers are planning legislation to end the requirement of UK courts to follow human rights rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, making clear that the UK Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial decision maker. Under the bill, UK courts would not always have to follow case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) based in Strasbourg. The bill contains measures to strengthen free speech. It would also make it easier to deport foreign criminals by restricting their right to appeal using human rights arguments.

New bill of rights would allow UK courts to diverge from ECHR rulings | Financial Times

The ECHR is a Strasbourg-based human rights court that deals with compliance with the European convention on human rights. It can deliver legally binding judgments when the human rights of any person under the power of any of its member states are violated – including right to life, prohibition of torture, right to privacy and others. The court is not connected to the European Union, and after Brexit, the UK remains a member.
The court usually deals with violations that happen on the territory of the member state, but with exceptions. Deportation is one such exception – the court can prevent deportation of a person who is under the risk of being tortured in the receiving country. This is a well-established principle of human rights law.

Rwanda deportations: what is the European Court of Human Rights, and why did it stop the UK flight from taking off?

Not everyone is impressed with what the UK government wants to do:

'Common sense' UK law will curb 'elastic' human rights interpretations, says Raab | Euronews

UK bill of rights: how new law would weaken human rights | openDemocracy

A British bill of rights? This draconian plan is a rights removal bill | Sacha Deshmukh | The Guardian

Here's an interesting case just brought before the court:

Six young activists and two environmental organisations are asking the European Court of Human Rights to secure their rights in the face of climate change by ceasing all new licences for exploration of oil and gas issued by the Norwegian State.

Young Norwegian environmentalists ask the European Court of Human Rights to secure their rights in the face of climate change - Greenpeace International

European court bumps youths’ climate case to top-tier panel – The Journal

European court says young people’s climate case to be examined by top-tier panel | The National

The court is very busy across the continent:

Belgium condemned for police violence by European Court of Human Rights

Romania: 37-year-old Roma man alleges police brutality, European Court of Human Rights has found the state liable for more than 20 such violations since 2015 - Romea.cz

A little more from Wikipedia:

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court,[1] is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights...

The convention was adopted within the context of the Council of Europe, and all of its 46 member states are contracting parties to the convention. Russia, having been expelled from the Council of Europe as of 16 March 2022,[2] ceases to be a party to the convention with effect from 16 September 2022 in accordance with article 58. Until then, the court has declared it "remains competent to deal with applications directed against the Russian Federation in relation to acts or omissions" occurring until that date.[3]

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