Friday 27 April 2012

Factsheets of Case-Law in German and Russian

In a significant new step in its case-law information policy, the European Court of Human Rights has now made available its thematic factsheets on case-law in both German and Russian. A very important information tool for applicants and their lawyers in German and Russian speaking ECHR state parties. This is what the Court's own press release has to say about it:
Thanks to funding from the German Government, the European Court of Human Rights is now making available in German and Russian a series of factsheets on its case-law with the aim of promoting the protection of human rights at national level. Translation into the two languages has been funded by the German Government as part of a three-year voluntary contribution to help enhance the Court’s communication. Since September 2010, the Court has published on its website some 30 factsheets giving an overview of its case-law on a number of issues, sorted by theme. So far they have only been available in the Council of Europe’s official languages English and French. The factsheets provide summaries of key judgments and decisions on issues such as: children's rights; the situation of the Roma; freedom of religion; conscientious objection; sexual orientation issues; prison conditions and the environment. “Making the factsheets available in German and Russian will contribute to increasing the awareness of the Court’s judgments among speakers of two of the most widely spoken languages in Europe,” said the Court’s Registrar, Erik Fribergh. The factsheets aim to contribute to increasing the awareness of the Court’s judgments among journalists, national authorities and among the public in the Member States of the Council of Europe with a view to improving the implementation of the Convention at national level. One of the key demands of the current reform plans to increase the effectiveness of the Convention system is for Member States to guarantee the domestic implementation of the Convention and its case-law.