It has been some years in the making, but a key set of documents, the Convention's Travaux Préparatoires, have now been made open access online, as a result of a collaboration beween the European Court of Human Rights and De Gruyter Brill Publishers. Hundreds of researchers who have written about one aspect or another of the ECHR must have held the physical volumes, published originally in the 1970s and 1980s, in their hands at several points, usually in their local library. The fact that they are now not only accessible online, but also in open access and in a searchable format, is very good news indeed!
The eight volumes Travaux can be accessed either through the publisher's website (in a pdf per volume) or on the Court's Knowledge-Sharing Platform. Please access each volume through here. In addition, the registry has made this very useful chart with links to the respective parts of the Travaux, organised by Article of the Convention. History may not repeat itself, but it can become more accessible.
As the Court explain in its press release on the launch of the online open access version:
'The “Preparatory Work” includes the various documents produced during the drafting of the Convention and its first Protocol, including reports of discussions in the Consultative Assembly and its Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions. These foundational documents offer valuable insight into the intentions of the European political leaders who, in the aftermath of the war, sought to enshrine a shared commitment to human dignity, freedom, and justice. Understanding why the Convention was brought into being is essential to appreciating the values it continues to protect today.'
