Hervorming Europees Hof Rechten van de Mens moet instelling effectiever maken (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Ministers from the 47 countries adhering to the European Court of Human Rights have agreed to reform the institution, so as to speed up the processing of its backlog of 120,000 cases.
Switzerland, which currently holds the chairmanship of the council's committee of ministers, organised a two-day conference in Interlaken at the end of last week in order to tackle the problems facing the Strasbourg-based court.
As it openly admits on its own website, the court dealing with human rights abuses faces a "desperate situation," with 120,000 pending cases which would take 46 years to be processed, if current rules apply.
Some 90 percent of all cases brought to the court are inadmissible or have no legal basis, so that judges are caught up in a lot of unnecessary work.
Ministers have agreed for a single judge to be able to decide if a case can be pursued or not, whereas up until now a panel of three judges was necessary for such a ruling.
Russia, accountable for a big bulk of cases, especially related to killings and torture in Chechnya, had initially resisted the reforms, BBC reports.
It only agreed at the last minute when a provision was included to allow a Russian judge to participate in any decisions concerning the country.
All 47 countries which have signed the European Convention on Human Rights - including Russia - have to obey the rulings of the court. However, the body cannot force states to comply, the ultimate sanction being expulsion from the Council of Europe, the body overseeing execution of these judgements and other matters relating to democracy and human rights.
Europeans can only file a complaint against their state when all the other national avenues of legal redress have been exhausted. Social issues, such as abortion, homosexuality and religion have also featured among the court's rulings, prompting criticism in some countries such as Ireland which feel their sovereignty on these matters narrowed by the European court.
The Interlaken declaration also calls for a better implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights on a national level and for countries to fully execute the court's rulings.
The first measures are to be implemented by June 2011. A review of the declaration goals will be made after five years.
Meer over...