Monday, 13 January 2025

75 Years ECHR and its Impact

As we enter the year in which the European Convention on Human Rights will turn 75 (in November) the Council of Europe has updated and expanded its dedicated website on how the ECHR has impacted law, policy and practice across Europe. These special webpages (launched in 2018, on which we reported at the time here) are geared towards a general audience and contain accessible and concise information on leading cases and their aftermath (what happened after the judgment was issued). 

The really attractive feature is that it traces this impact by way of stories of people: they are centred around the often brave applicants who started cases in Strasbourg and, by doing so, triggered changes both within their own countries and across Europe. From Dudgeon to Siliadin, they tell the story of an indeed very living instrument for the protection of human rights. In times like ours, when the situation for human rights seems dire in so many respects, these stories and these judgments remind us of the power, influence and effect that conventions and judgments can have, even if it sometimes takes a lot of time and patience. Several of the stories have been turned into short videos. 

The website is searchable either by themes (from freedom of expression to the protection of the environment, and from human rights and health to the right to property) or by state, the latter enabling anyone read about some of the leading cases related to their country of residence and how they led to real change on the ground. Within those country pages, there are also links to the Court's own 'country profiles' about those states and to the department on the execution of judgments' factsheets on the state of implementation of the Court's judgments and the supervision by the Committee of Ministers.