On 5 November 2026, Mattias Guyomar, President of the Court, Ivana Jelić, Vice-President of the Court, Davor Derenčinović, judge elected in respect of Croatia, Gilberto Felici, judge elected in respect of San Marino and Abel Campos, Deputy Registrar of the Court, participated in a conference held in Zagreb to markthe 30th anniversary of Croatia’s membership of the Council of Europe and its signing of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The President delivered opening remarks and took part in a panel entitled “Domestic courts on the Front Line of Human Rights Protection – the Zagreb and Strasbourg views”, during which he highlighted the importance of shared responsibility between the Court and the national authorities.

During the same conference, judge Derenčinović addressed the key achievements and challenges in Croatia’s relationship with the Court, while Vice-President Jelić highlighted the role of the European Convention on Human Rights in protecting the right to a healthy and sustainable environment. Judge Felici spoke about migration and State’s rights and obligations, particularly in the context of national security, and the Deputy Registrar addressed the implementation of the Convention and its impact on cases brought before the Court.

On 6 November, the President delivered a lecture at the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb, during which he outlines the contemporary challenges facing the European Court of Human Rights.

On 2 and 3 November 2026, Vice-President Arnfinn Bårdsen received a group of Norwegian Supreme Court lawyers, headed by the Deputy Registrar of the Norwegian Supreme Court, Fred Anton Mykland and the Head of the Supreme Court’s Legal Secretariat, Knut André Aastebøl, for a two-day study visit to the Court.

During their stay, the guests were given an introduction to the Court’s working methods and overall operation by Vice-President Bårdsen, assisted by lawyers and senior staff from the Court’s Registry and the Council of Europe’s Department for the Execution of Judgments.

On 23 October 2026, the President of the Court, Mattias Guyomar, met with the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. On behalf of the Court, the meeting was also attended by Ioannis Ktistakis, Section President and the judge elected in respect of Greece, and Marialena Tsirli, Registrar of the Court. On behalf of the Greek Government, the participants included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Gerapetritis, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tasos Chatzivasileiou. The interlocutors exchanged views on the Court’s role in safeguarding human rights across Europe, the importance of the implementation of its judgments, and Greece’s support for the Convention system.

On 22 and 23 October 2026, a delegation of judges of the Court and its Registrar, led by President Mattias Guyomar, visited Athens for meetings with Greece's superior courts and participation in two events.

On 22 October, the delegation held a bilateral meeting with a delegation of Greece’s Council of State, led by its President Michalis Pikramenos, while on 23 October they met with the President Panagiotis Lymperopoulos and judges of Greece’s Court of Cassation. The discussions, which formed part of the Court’s continuing judicial dialogue with national superior courts, focused on the principle of shared responsibility in implementing the European Convention on Human Rights.

On 23 October, the Court delegation also attended the presentation of the proceedings of the commemorative event Strengthening Democracy: 50 Years since the Re-ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights and 75 Years since the Founding of the Council of Europe, organised by the Council of State and attended by H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic, Constantine An. Tassoulas, and other senior State officials. Addressing the participants, the President of the Court highlighted that the democratic ideal lies at the heart of both the Convention and the Court’s case-law, adding that democracy and the protection of fundamental rights are mutually reinforcing. The publication was presented by Ioannis Ktistakis, Section President and judge elected in respect of Greece, who served as scientific editor of the volume. On the sidelines of the presentation, President Guyomar, Judge Ktistakis and Registrar Tsirli had the opportunity to meet with the President of the Hellenic Republic.

On 22 October, the delegation also participated in the Christos Rozakis Workshop entitled Greece and the Strasbourg Court. Ioannis Ktistakis, Section President and judge elected in respect of Greece, delivered the introductory remarks, while President Mattias Guyomar and the Registrar of the Court, Marialena Tsirli, took part in a discussion on the contemporary challenges facing the European Court of Human Rights, chaired by former Court President Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos. In his speech, the President of the Court elaborated on three challenges: armed conflicts, threats to democracy and the rule of law, and the application of the living instrument doctrine in a context of political pressure. The Registrar of the Court, focused on the operational challenges faced by the Court, including the massive influx of applications, insufficient financial resources; and the impact of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, on the work of the Court.

On 21 October 2026, the President of the Court, Mattias Guyomar, welcomed a delegation from the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, led by its President, Jhoel Escudero Soliz. The visit provided an opportunity for the participants to gain deeper insight into the work of the Court and its case-law, thereby strengthening judicial dialogue beyond Europe's borders.

On 12 October 2026, a delegation from the Court of Justice of the EU, led by its President Koen Lenaerts, paid a visit to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for the two courts’ regular annual bilateral meeting. 

This year’s discussions focused on the respective contributions of each court to the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law across Europe, with particular attention to the independence of the judiciary, the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in the area of sport, and the role of values in the Convention system and the EU system of fundamental rights protection. 

On the sidelines of the visit, President Mattias Guyomar and President Koen Lenaerts gave a joint interview titled Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: A dialogue between two Court Presidents. The interview centered on the distinct yet complementary roles of the two jurisdictions in shaping and safeguarding the European legal space, the concrete impact of their case-law on the daily lives of people across Europe, including young people, and the challenges facing both courts. The interview will be published on the websites and social media channels of the two courts.

• Interview preview

On 8 October 2026, the Court welcomed a delegation of Croatian judges and public prosecutors for a study visit.

Davor Derenčinović, Judge of the Court elected in respect of Croatia, presented the Court’s role, functioning and working methods, providing participants with an insight into the Court’s daily work and current challenges.

The visit also offered an opportunity to exchange views on issues relating to domestic violence, freedom of expression, and the protection of the privacy and reputation of judges and public prosecutors.

• Country profile: Croatia

The Minister of Justice of Slovenia, Mihael Zupančič, visited the Court on 1 October 2026 where he met with its President, Mattias Guyomar. The judge elected in respect of Slovenia, Vasilka Sancin, and the Registrar of the Court, Marialena Tsirli, also attended the meeting. The discussions focused on questions of the Court's independence and autonomy, Slovenia's implementation of the Court's judgments, and the country's support for the Court and the Convention system.

• Video
• Country profile: Slovenia

On 1 October 2026, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, visited the Court. He was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Monaco and President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Isabelle Berro Amadeï, and the Secretary of State for Justice, Samuel Vuelta Simon. President Mattias Guyomar, Sébastien Biancheri, judge elected in respect of Monaco, and the Registrar of the Court, Marialena Tsirli, received the H.S.H. Prince Albert II for a walking tour of the Court.

During the visit, H.S.H. Prince Albert II visited the Court’s hearing rooms, the mail office, and the library, as well as the René Cassin Room and the Helga Pedersen Room, which host permanent exhibitions dedicated to these two important figures.

He concluded his visit with an exchange with the Court’s Bureau in the Luzius Wildhaber Room.

• Video
• Country profile: Monaco

On 30 September 2026, the President of the Portuguese Republic, António José Martins Seguro, accompanied by the Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcão Júdice, paid an official visit to the Court and met with its President, Mattias Guyomar. The judge elected in respect of Portugal, Ana Maria Guerra Martins, and the Registrar, Marialena Tsirli, also participated in the meeting. President Martins Seguro underlined the Court’s key role in the European architecture. Minister Alarcão Júdice expressed Portugal’s firm commitment to the execution of the Court’s judgments and Judge Guerra Martins set out the type of cases brought against Portugal at the Court. During the visit, President Martins Seguro also had the opportunity to meet with the Court’s Portuguese staff members.

• Video
• Country profile: Portugal

On 17 September 2026, the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Türkiye, H.E. Mr Burak Ceyhan, visited the Court where he was received by President Mattias Guyomar, the judge elected in respect of Türkiye, Saadet Yüksel, and the Deputy Registrar, Abel Campos.

The President emphasised the importance of judicial independence and shared responsibility for protecting Convention rights, recognising Türkiye’s commitment to cooperation. Judge Yüksel commented on the high caseload in respect of Türkiye and the value of judicial dialogue. The Deputy Registrar mentioned the importance of ensuring efficiency in case processing.

• Country profile: Türkiye

On 17 September 2026, the judge elected in respect of Italy, Raffaele Sabato, met a group of representatives from the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (“the ECB”). The group was led by the heads of unit, Laura Fabiani and Christine Hauner.

Judge Sabato gave a presentation on Regulation of banking and finance in the case-law of the ECHR. Anne Weber, senior legal advisor at GRECO (Group of States against Corruption), and Veronika Mets, head of unit at MONEYVAL (Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism), provided an overview of their fields of activity in the Council of Europe.

The session was concluded with a Q&A session.

On 16 September 2026, the Bulgarian President, Iliana Iotova, accompanied by the Minister of Justice, Nikolay Naydenov, visited the Court where they were received by President Mattias Guyomar, the judge elected in respect of Bulgaria, Diana Kovatcheva, and the Registrar, Marialena Tsirli.

President Iotova extended an invitation to President Guyomar to visit Bulgaria in 2027 to celebrate the 35^th anniversary of Bulgaria’s ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights.

• Video
• Country profile: Bulgaria

On 3 September 2026, the Vice-President of the Court, Arnfinn Bårdsen, received a delegation from the External Relations Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which paid a visit to the Court. Ambassador Catherine Cudré-Mauroux, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the OECD, thanked the Vice-President for his welcome.

During the meeting, the Vice-President and the delegation exchanged views, among other things, on the crucial role of democracy and the rule of law as means of maintaining peace, stability and progress. They discussed current challenges to the democratic process, to the rules-based world order and to judicial independence. Vice-President Bårdsen also explained the Court’s role under the Convention system, illustrated by recent rulings from the Court’s Grand Chamber.

On 6 July 2026, a delegation of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland, led by its President, Jacek Chlebny, visited the Court, where they had the opportunity to exchange with the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Mattias Guyomar; the Vice President and judge elected in respect of Montenegro, Ivana Jelić; the judge elected in respect of San Marino, Gilberto Felici; the judge elected in respect of Sweden, Erik Wennerström; the judge elected in respect of Belgium, Frédéric Krenc; the judge elected in respect of Croatia, Davor Derenčinović; the judge elected in respect of Liechtenstein, Alain Chablais; the judge elected in respect of Latvia, Artūrs Kučs; the judge elected in respect of Poland, Anna Adamska Gallant; the Registrar, Marialena Tsirli; the Deputy Registrar, Abel Campos; and other Registry staff.

The discussions focused on fair trial standards and judicial independence; the review by national courts of the proportionality of limitations on rights and freedoms in the current geopolitical context; recent developments relating to migration; and the protection of the private and family life of same sex couples.

The President of the Court, Mattias Guyomar, welcomed the participants and emphasised the importance of judicial solidarity and the vital dialogue between the Court and national courts. He recalled how, by defending judges’ freedom of expression in different country contexts, the Court worked to ensure that judges could fulfil their role as guardians of democracy and the rule of law. He further emphasised how the Court remained attentive to the legal and political realities in all Council of Europe member states, and stressed the need to protect the Court’s judicial independence.

• Speech by President Mattias Guyomar
• Country profile: Poland