Protocol No. 15 to the Convention enters into force

European Convention on Human Rights

01/08/2021

Protocol No. 15, amending the Convention by introducing, among other points, a reference to the principle of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation doctrine, entered into force on 1 August 2021.

It also reduces the time-limit for applying to the Court from the current six months to four months from the date of the final national decision, but this provision will become effective only from 1 February 2022, following a transitional period.

This Protocol has been signed and ratified by the 47 member States of the Council of Europe.

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Chamber

  • Judgment concerning France

    22/07/2021 
    Judgment concerning France

    In the case of E.H. v. France, the Court has found no violation of the Convention. The applicant submitted that his return to Morocco had exposed him to a risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 on account of his Sahrawi origins and his activism in support of the Sahrawi cause.

    This is the first case of this type that the Court has examined, and it noted that international reports concerning Morocco indicated that Moroccan nationals who were activists for Western Saharan independence and the Sahrawi cause constituted a group at particular risk.

    However, the evidence in the file did not provide substantial grounds for believing that the applicant’s return to Morocco had placed him at real risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention.

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  • Judgment concerning Poland

    22/07/2021 
    Judgment concerning Poland

    The Court has found a violation of the right to a fair hearing in the case of Reczkowicz v. Poland. The case concerned complaints lodged by the applicant, a barrister who had been suspended following several incidents when she was representing a client; she alleged before the ECHR that the Disciplinary Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court which had decided on a case concerning her had not been a “tribunal established by law” and had lacked impartiality and independence. The Court found that the procedure for appointing judges to the Disciplinary Chamber had been unduly influenced by the legislative and executive powers. This fundamental irregularity compromised the legitimacy of the Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber.

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  • Judgment concerning France

    22/07/2021 
    Judgment concerning France

    The Court has found several violations of the Convention in the case of M.D. and A.D. v. France. The case concerned the administrative detention of a Malian national and her four-month-old daughter pending their transfer to Italy, the country responsible for examining their application for asylum.

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  • Judgment concerning Ukraine

    22/07/2021 
    Judgment concerning Ukraine

    In the case of Gumenyuk and Others v. Ukraine the Court held that there had been a violation of the right of access to court and the right to respect for private life. The case concerned judges of the former Supreme Court of Ukraine who were prevented from exercising their functions, without having ever been formally dismissed, because of judicial reform and legislative amendments that took place in 2016. In particular, the Court found unlawful interference within the meaning of the Convention, against the principle of irremovability of judges which is fundamental for judicial independence and public trust in the judiciary.
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Other Information

  • Country profiles

    26/07/2021 
    Country profiles

    Country profiles containing data and information, broken down by individual State, on significant cases considered by the Court or currently pending before it, were updated on 30 July 2020.

    There is one country profile for each Council of Europe member State.

    Country profiles

    Facts and figures by State

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  • New Inter-State application: Russia v. Ukraine

    23/07/2021 
    New Inter-State application: Russia v. Ukraine

    The Government of Russia has lodged an application with the European Court against Ukraine.

    The case concerns the Russian Government’s allegation of an administrative practice in Ukraine of, among other things, killings, abductions, forced displacement, interference with the right to vote, restrictions on the use of the Russian language and attacks on Russian embassies and consulates. They also complain about the water supply to Crimea at the Northern Crimean Canal being switched off and allege that Ukraine was responsible for the deaths of those on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 because it failed to close its airspace.

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    Questions and Answers on Inter-State applications

    Inter-State Applications

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Forthcoming rulings: 31 August 2021