Advisory opinions - ECHR Case-Law - ECHR
Advisory opinions
Advisory opinions under Protocol No. 16
Protocol No. 16 to the Convention
Protocol No. 16 to the Convention allows the highest courts and tribunals of a State Party to request the Court to give advisory opinions on questions of principle relating to the interpretation or application of the rights and freedoms defined in the Convention or the protocols thereto.
Protocol No. 16 came into force on 1 August 2018 in respect of the States which have signed and ratified it.
Guidelines:
Currently pending
Requests for advisory opinion accepted
Belgium
Examination completed
Advisory opinions delivered
Finland
On 13 April 2023 the ECHR delivered its advisory opinion in reply to a request submitted by the Supreme Court of Finland.
The request concerned the issues that have arisen out of proceedings for the adoption of an adult.
France
On 13 July 2022 the ECHR delivered its advisory opinion in reply to a request submitted by the French Conseil d’État.
The request concerned the entitlement of landowners’ associations to withdraw their land from the territory of an officially approved hunting association (ACCA).
Armenia
Lithuania
Armenia
France
The Court held that States are not obliged to register the details of the birth certificate of a child born through gestational surrogacy abroad in order to establish the legal parent-child relationship with the intended mother, as adoption may serve as a means of recognising that relationship.
Request for advisory opinion rejected
Slovakia
The Court has decided on 14 December 2020 to reject the request for an advisory opinion submitted by the Slovak Supreme Court concerning the independence of the current mechanism for assessing complaints against the police.
The ECHR considered that the points raised did not concern an issue for which the Slovak Supreme Court required guidance so that it could ensure respect for Convention rights in hearing and determining the case in question.
Advisory opinions - Article 47 of the Convention
Advisory opinion on certain legal questions concerning the lists of candidates submitted with a view to the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights
- Advisory opinion (no. 2) (22/01/2010)
- Advisory opinion (no. 1) (12/02/2008)
Decision on the competence of the court to give an advisory opinion
Advisory opinions - Oviedo Convention
The ECHR has decided on 15 September 2021 not to accept the request for an advisory opinion submitted by the Council of Europe’s Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) under Article 29 of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, also known as “Oviedo Convention”. The DH-BIO asked the Court to provide an advisory opinion on two questions regarding the protection of the human rights and dignity of persons with mental disorders in the face of involuntary placement and/or treatment.