Brighton Conference

Brighton Conference on the future of the Court

A high level Conference on the future of the Court was organised by the United Kingdom in Brighton on 18-20 April 2012, during the British Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The Plenary Court has adopted a preliminary opinion for the preparation of the Conference.

Brighton Declaration

Speech of Sir Nicolas Bratza

Speech of Thorbjørn Jagland

Speech by Jean-Claude Mignon

Photos gallery

Special file

Preliminary opinion of the Court

Italian version
(translation commissioned by the Italian Government)

Conference in Izmir

Izmir Conference on the future of the Court

The Turkish Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe organised a high-level conference on the future of the Court in Izmir on 26 and 27 April 2011. Press release

Final Declaration

Speech of President Costa

Special file

 Conference of Interlaken

Interlaken Conference on the future of the Court

President Costa, accompanied by a delegation of judges and members of the Registry, travelled to Interlaken (Switzerland) on 18 and 19 February 2010 to attend a Ministerial Conference on the future of the European Court of Human Rights. A joint declaration was adopted at the close of the Conference.

Memorandum of President Costa

Interlaken Declaration

Conference website

Principle of subsidiarity - Interlaken follow-up - Note by the Jurisconsult

Special file

 Protocol No. 14 and No. 14bis

Reform of the Court

The reform of the Court, begun back in 2001, was the subject of a new protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, Protocol 14. Its purpose is to guarantee the long-term efficiency of the Court by optimising the screening and processing of applications.

Pending the final ratification that would allow the instrument to come into force and in order to provide a temporary but quick solution to the Court's excessive caseload, a new Protocol 14bis was adopted in May 2009 during the session of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers in Madrid. This protocol contains two procedural measures taken from the earlier Protocol 14 to increase the Court’s case-processing capacity as rapidly as possible:

Press Release

Read the Protocol No. 14

Read the Protocol No. 14bis

Special file