The "new" Court was set up following the entry into force of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention on 1 November 1998. A single system was thus brought into existence allowing 800 million Europeans to apply directly to an international court if they considered themselves victims of a violation of their fundamental rights.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the "new" Court, President Costa hailed the establishment of the “new” Court in 1998 as a landmark in the development of international human rights protection.

Declaration by President Costa

Seminar "Ten years of the "new" Court"

A seminar was held at the Court on 13 October 2008 to mark the10th anniversary of the entry into force of Protocol No.11 to the Convention. It focused on two main topics: the evolution of the right of individual petition and the evolution of European human rights case-law. The discussions, in which lawyers, NGOs and universities took part, gave the participants an opportunity to take stock of the Court's activities over the past decade.

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Proceedings of the Seminar

Proceedings of the Seminar

Webcast of the Seminar

Part 1

Part 2

Information and statistics

Since the reform of the Convention system, there has been a considerable increase in the Court’s caseload. Barely ten years after the reform, as it approaches its 50th anniversary, the Court has delivered its 10,000th judgment. Its output is such that more than 90% of the Court’s judgments since it was set up in 1959 have been delivered between 1998 and 2008.

The European Court of Human Rights in facts and figures

Table of violations 1998-2008

Protocol No. 11 of the Convention

Protocol No. 11 has modified the Convention system by creating a single and permanent Court, thus ending the filtering mechanism of the former European Commission of Human Rights. It has also fully recognised the right of each and every individual to apply directly to the Court.

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Photo gallery

Photos of the Seminar.

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Exhibition of photos

An exhibition of photos on the theme of "Official visits to the Court by Heads of State and Governments from 1998 to 2008" was organised in readiness for the Seminar.

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