EUROPEAN

CONVENTION ON
HUMAN RIGHTS

ECHR
The

European
Convention
on
Human Rights (ECHR) entered into
force on 3 September 1953.

ECHR
It

has binding effect on all Member

States of the Council of Europe.
The
European
Convention
on
Human Rights has played an
important role in the development
and awareness of Human Rights in
Europe.

ECHR
The

development of a regional system of

human rights protection operating across
Europe can be seen as a direct response to
twin concerns.
First, in the aftermath of the Second World
War.
Second, the Convention was a response to the
growth of Communism in Central and
Eastern Europe and designed to protect the
member states of the Council of Europe from
communist subversion.

ECHR
As

amended by Protocol 11, the

Convention consists of three parts.
The main rights and freedoms are
contained in Section I, which
consists of Articles 2 to 18. Section II
(Articles 19 to 51) sets up the Court
and its rules of operation. Section III
contains
various
concluding
provisions.

CONVENTION FOR THE

PROTECTION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS AND
FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
Section I

ECHR
Article

1: Obligation
human rights

to

respect

The high contracting parties shall

secure to everyone within their
jurisdiction the rights and freedom
defined in section 1 of this
convention.

ARTICLE 1: OBLIGATION TO
RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS
Article

1 simply binds the signatory parties

to secure the rights under the other Articles
of the Convention "within their jurisdiction".
In exceptional cases, "jurisdiction" may not
be confined to a Contracting State's own
national territory; the obligation to secure
Convention rights then also extends to
foreign territory, such as occupied land in
which the State exercises effective control.

ARTICLE 1: CASE LAW

In

Loizidou v Turkey, the European

Court of Human Rights ruled that
jurisdiction of member states to the
convention extended to areas under
that state's effective control as a
result of military action.

ARTICLE 2: RIGHT TO LIFE

The

Court has ruled that states have

three main duties under Article 2:
a duty to refrain from unlawful killing,
a duty to investigate suspicious deaths
and,
in certain circumstances, a positive duty
to prevent foreseeable loss of life.
Article 2 protects the right of every person
to his or her life.

ARTICLE 2: CASE LAW

In

Evans v United Kingdom: the

Court ruled that the right to life does
not extend to a human embryo.

ARTICLE 3: PROHIBITION OF
TORTURE
Article

3 prohibits torture and

inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment. There are no exceptions
or limitations on this right. This
provision usually applies, apart from
torture, to cases of severe police
violence and poor conditions in
detention.

ARTICLE 3: CASE LAW

Judgments have recently strengthened the
unqualified prohibition of conduct falling within
Article 3 irrespective of the threats posed by the
victims, whether they be a suspected international
terrorist (Saadi v Italy) or a child killer (Gafgen v
Germany).
In the Courts judgment in Ireland v UK, the
deliberate infliction of intense physical and mental
suffering
resulting
in
acute
psychiatric
disturbances during interrogation of detainees was
characterized as inhuman treatment.

ARTICLE 4: PROHIBITION OF
SLAVERY AND FORCED LABOR
Article

4 prohibits slavery, servitude and

forced labor but exempts labor:
done as a normal part of imprisonment,
in the form of compulsory military service or
work done as an alternative by conscientious
objectors,
required to be done during a state of
emergency, and
considered to be a part of a person's normal
"civic obligations."

ARTICLE 5: RIGHT TO LIBERTY AND

SECURITY
Article 5 provides that everyone has the right to liberty
and security of person.
Article 5 provides the right to liberty, subject only to
lawful arrest or detention under certain other
circumstances, such as arrest on reasonable suspicion of
a crime or imprisonment in fulfillment of a sentence. The
article also provides those arrested with the right to be
informed, in a language they understand, of the reasons
for the arrest and any charge they face, the right of
prompt access to judicial proceedings to determine the
legality of the arrest or detention, to trial within a
reasonable time or release pending trial, and the right to
compensation in the case of arrest or detention in
violation of this article.

ARTICLE 6: RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL

Article

6 provides a detailed right to

a fair trial, including the right to a
public
hearing
before
an
independent and impartial tribunal
within
reasonable
time,
the
presumption of innocence, and other
minimum rights for those charged
with a criminal offense.

ARTICLE 6: CASE LAW

Othman (Abu Qatada) v. United

Kingdom (2012) - Abu Qatada could
not be deported to Jordan as that
would be a violation of Article 6 given
the real risk of the admission of
evidence obtained by torture. This
was the first time the court ruled that
such an expulsion would be a violation
of Article 6.

ARTICLE 7: NO PUNISHMENT
WITHOUT LAW
No

person may be punished for an act that was

not a criminal offence at the time of its
commission. The article states that a criminal
offence is one under either national or
international law, which would permit a party to
prosecute someone for a crime which was not
illegal under domestic law at the time, so long as
it was prohibited by international law. The
Article also prohibits a heavier penalty being
imposed than was applicable at the time when
the criminal act was committed.

ARTICLE 7: CASE LAW

S.A.S

VS. FRANCE
KOKKINAKIS VS. GREECE

ARTICLE 8: RIGHT TO RESPECT FOR

PRIVATE AND FAMILY LIFE
Article 8 provides a right to respect for one's
"private and family life, his home and his
correspondence", subject to certain restrictions
that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary
in a democratic society".
This article clearly provides a right to be free of
unlawful searches.
But the Court has given the protection for
"private and family life" that this article provides a
broad interpretation, taking for instance that
prohibition of private consensual homosexual acts
violates this article.

ARTICLE 9: FREEDOM OF THOUGHT,

CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION

This includes the freedom to change

a religion or belief, and to manifest a
religion or belief in worship,
teaching, practice and observance,
subject to certain restrictions that
are in accordance with law and
necessary in a democratic society.

ARTICLE 10: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and

to receive and impart information and ideas, but
allows restrictions for:
interests of national security
territorial integrity or public safety
prevention of disorder or crime
protection of health or morals
protection of the reputation or the rights of others
preventing the disclosure of information received in
confidence
maintaining the authority and impartiality of the
judiciary

ARTICLE 11: FREEDOM OF

ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION
Article

11 protects the right to freedom

of assembly and association, including
the right to form trade unions, subject
to certain restrictions that are "in
accordance with law" and "necessary in
a democratic society".

ARTICLE 12: MARRIAGE

Article

12 provides a right for women and men

of marriageable age to marry and establish a
family.
Despite a number of invitations, the Court has
so far refused to apply the protections of this
article to same-sex marriage. The Court has
defended this on the grounds that the article
was intended to apply only to different-sex
marriage, and that a wide margin of
appreciation must be granted to parties in this
area.

ARTICLE 12: CASE LAW

Goodwin v United Kingdom the Court

ruled that a law which still classified postoperative transsexual persons under their
pre-operative sex, violated article 12 as it
meant that transsexual persons were
unable to marry individuals of their postoperative opposite sex.

ARTICLE 13: RIGHT TO EFFECTIVE

REMEDY
Article

13 provides for the right for an

effective remedy before national authorities
for violations of rights under the
Convention. The inability to obtain a
remedy before a national court for an
infringement of a Convention right is thus a
free-standing and separately actionable
infringement of the Convention.

ARTICLE 14: PROHIBITION ON

DISCRIMINATION
The article specifically prohibits discrimination
based on sex, race, colour, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin,
association with a national minority, property,
birth or other status.
At the same time the article's protection is limited
in that it only prohibits discrimination with respect
to rights under the Convention. Thus, an applicant
must prove discrimination in the enjoyment of a
specific right that is guaranteed elsewhere in the
Convention (e.g. discrimination based on sex Article 14 - in the enjoyment of the right to freedom
of expression - Article 10).

ARTICLE 15: DEROGATON IN TIME

OF EMERGENCY

1.
2.
3.

Article 15 allows contracting states to derogate from

certain rights guaranteed by the Convention in time
of "war or other public emergency threatening the life
of the nation". Permissible derogations under article
15 must meet three substantive conditions:
there must be a public emergency threatening the
life of the nation;
any measures taken in response must be "strictly
required by the exigencies of the situation", and
the measures taken in response to it, must be in
compliance with a state's other obligations under
international law

ARTICLE 15
Permissible

derogations under article 15 must

meet three substantive conditions:
there must be a public emergency threatening
the life of the nation;
any measures taken in response must be
"strictly required by the exigencies of the
situation", and
the measures taken in response to it, must be in
compliance with a state's other obligations
under international law

ARTICLE 15
In

addition
to
these
substantive
requirements the derogation must be
procedurally sound. There must be some
formal announcement of the derogation
and notice of the derogation, any measures
adopted under it, and the ending of the
derogation must be communicated to the
Secretary-General of the Council of Europe

ARTICLE 16: RESTRICTIONS ON

POLITICAL ACTIVITY OF ALIENS
Article

16 allows states to restrict the

political activity of foreigners. The Court has
ruled that European Union member states
cannot consider the nationals of other
member states to be aliens.

ARTICLE 17: PROHIBITION OF

ABUSE OF RIGHTS
Article

17 provides that no one may use the

rights guaranteed by the Convention to
seek the abolition or limitation of rights
guaranteed in the Convention. This
addresses instances where states seek to
restrict a human right in the name of
another human right, or where individuals
rely on a human right to undermine other
human rights

ARTICLE 18: LIMITATION N USE OF

RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHTS
Article

18 provides that any limitations

on the rights provided for in the
Convention may be used only for the
purpose for which they are provided.

THE EUROPEAN COURT ON

HUMAN RIGHTS
Section II

ARTICLE 19 ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE COURT
To

ensure the observance of the

engagements undertaken by the High
Contracting Parties in the Convention and
the Protocols thereto, there shall be set up
a European Court of Human Rights,
hereinafter referred to as the Court. It
shall function on a permanent basis.

ARTICLE 20 NUMBER OF JUDGES

The

Court shall consist of a number of

judges equal to that of the High
Contracting Parties

ARTICLE 21 CRITERIA FOR OFFICE

1.
2.
3.

Shall be of high moral character

Shall sit in their individual capacity
During their term of office the judges
shall not engage in any activity which is
incompatible with their independence,
impartiality or with the demands of a
fulltime office;

ARTICLE 22 ELECTION OF JUDGES

The

judges shall be elected by the

Parliamentary Assembly with respect to
each High Contracting Party by a majority of
votes cast from a list of three candidates
nominated by the High Contracting Party

ARTICLE 23 TERMS OF OFFICE AND

DISMISSAL
Shall

be elected for a period of nine

years
Terms of office of judges shall expire
when they reach the age of 70
Judges shall hold office until replaced.

ARTICLE 24 REGISTRY AND

RAPPORTEURS

The Court shall have a Registry, the functions and

organization of which shall be laid down in the
rules of the Court.
When sitting in a singlejudge formation, the Court
shall be assisted by rapporteurs who shall
function under the authority of the President of
the Court. They shall form part of the Courts
Registry.

ARTICLE 25 PLENARY COURT

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

The plenary Court shall

elect its President and one or two Vice-Presidents
for a period of three years; they may be reelected;
set up Chambers, constituted for a fixed period of
time;
elect the Presidents of the Chambers of the Court;
they may be reelected;
adopt the rules of the Court;
elect the Registrar and one or more Deputy
Registrars;
make any request under Article 26, paragraph 2.

ARTICLE 26 SINGLE-JUDGE FORMATION,

COMMITTEES, CHAMBERS AND GRAND CHAMBER

The Court shall sit in a single-judge formation, in

committees of three judges, in Chambers of seven
judges and in a Grand Chamber of seventeen
judges. The Courts Chambers shall set up
committees for a fixed period of time
When sitting as a single judge, a judge shall not
examine any application against the High
Contracting Party in respect of which that judge
has been elected.

 There

shall sit as an ex-officio member of the

Chamber and the Grand Chamber the judge
elected in respect of the High Contracting Party
concerned. If there is none or if that judge is
unable to sit, a person chosen by the President
of the Court from a list submitted in advance by
that Party shall sit in the capacity of judge
The Grand Chamber shall also include the
President of the Court, the Vice-Presidents, the
Presidents of the Chambers and other judges
chosen in accordance with the rules of the
Court.

ARTICLE 28 COMPETENCE OF
COMMITTEES

a.

b.

In respect of an application submitted under Article

34, a committee may, by a unanimous vote:
declare it inadmissible or strike it out of its list of
cases, where such decision can be taken without
further examination; or
declare it admissible and render at the same time a
judgment on the merits, if the underlying question
in the case, concerning the interpretation or the
application of the Convention or the Protocols
thereto, is already the subject of well-established
case law of the Court.

 Decisions

and judgments under paragraph 1

shall be final.
If the judge elected in respect of the High
Contracting Party concerned is not a member of
the committee, the committee may at any stage
of the proceedings invite that judge to take the
place of one of the members of the committee,
having regard to all relevant factors, including
whether that Party has contested the
application of the procedure under paragraph 1

ARTICLE 29 DECISIONS BY
CHAMBERS ON ADMISSIBILITY AND
MERITS
If

no decision is taken under Article 27 or

28, or no judgment rendered under Article
28, a Chamber shall decide on the
admissibility and merits of individual
applications submitted under Article 34.
The decision on admissibility may be
taken separately

ARTICLE 30 RELINQUISHMENT OF
JURISDICTION TO THE GRAND
CHAMBER
Where

a case pending before a Chamber

raises a serious question affecting the
interpretation of the Convention or the
Protocols thereto, or where the resolution of a
question before the Chamber might have a
result inconsistent with a judgment
previously delivered by the Court, the
Chamber may, at any time before it has
rendered its judgment, relinquish jurisdiction
in favour of the Grand Chamber, unless one
of the parties to the case objects

ARTICLE 31 POWERS OF THE GRAND

CHAMBER

a.

b.

c.

The Grand Chamber shall

determine applications submitted either under
Article 33 or Article 34 when a Chamber has
relinquished jurisdiction under Article 30 or when
the case has been referred to it under Article 43;
decide on issues referred to the Court by the
Committee of Ministers in accordance with Article
46, paragraph 4; and
consider requests for advisory opinions submitted
under Article 47

ARTICLE 32 JURISDICTION OF THE

COURT
The

jurisdiction of the Court shall extend

to
all
matters
concerning
the
interpretation and application of the
Convention and the Protocols thereto
which are referred to it as provided in
Articles 33, 34, 46 and 47. 2. In the event
of dispute as to whether the Court has
jurisdiction, the Court shall decide.

ARTICLE 33 INTER-STATE CASES

Any

High Contracting Party may refer to

the Court any alleged breach of the
provisions of the Convention and the
Protocols thereto by another High
Contracting Party

ARTICLE 34 INDIVIDUAL
APPLICATIONS
The

Court may receive applications from

any person, nongovernmental organization
or group of individuals claiming to be the
victim of a violation by one of the High
Contracting Parties of the rights set forth
in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.
The High Contracting Parties undertake
not to hinder in any way the effective
exercise of this right

ARTICLE 35 ADMISSIBILITY
CRITERIA
The Court may only deal with the matter after all
domestic remedies have been exhausted
The Court shall not deal with any application
submitted under Article 34 that (a) is anonymous;
or (b) is substantially the same as a matter that
has already been examined by the Court.
The
Court shall declare inadmissible any
individual application if it considers that: (a) the
application is incompatible with the provisions of
the Convention or the Protocols; or (b) the
applicant has not suffered a significant
disadvantage

ARTICLE 37 STRIKING OUT

APPLICATIONS
The

Court may at any stage of the proceedings

decide to strike an application out of its list of
cases where the circumstances lead to the
conclusion that
a. the applicant does not intend to pursue his
application; or
b. the matter has been resolved; or
c.
for any other reason established by the Court,
it is no longer justified to continue the
examination of the application.

ARTICLE 39 FRIENDLY
SETTLEMENTS
At

any stage of the proceedings, the Court

may place itself at the disposal of the
parties concerned with a view to securing
a friendly settlement of the matter on the
basis of respect for human rights as
defined in the Convention and the
Protocols thereto

ARTICLE 40 PUBLIC HEARINGS AND

ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Hearings

shall be in public unless the

Court in exceptional circumstances
decides otherwise.
Documents deposited with the Registrar
shall be accessible to the public unless the
President of the Court decides otherwise

ARTICLE 41 JUST SATISFACTION

If

the Court finds that there has been a

violation of the Convention or the
Protocols thereto, and if the internal law
of the High Contracting Party concerned
allows only partial reparation to be made,
the Court shall, if necessary, afford just
satisfaction to the injured party

ARTICLE 43 REFERRAL TO THE

GRAND CHAMBER
Within a period of three months from the date of
the judgment of the Chamber, any party to the case
may, in exceptional cases, request that the case be
referred to the Grand Chamber.
A panel of five judges of the Grand Chamber shall
accept the request if the case raises a serious
question affecting the interpretation or application
of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, or a
serious issue of general importance.

If the panel accepts the request, the Grand

Chamber shall decide the case by means of a
judgment

ARTICLE 44 FINAL JUDGMENTS

The judgment of the Grand Chamber shall be final.
The judgment of a Chamber shall become final
a. when the parties declare that they will not
request that the case be referred to the Grand
Chamber; or
b. three months after the date of the judgment, if
reference of the case to the Grand Chamber has
not been requested; or
c. when the panel of the Grand Chamber rejects the
request to refer under Article 43.
. The final judgment shall be published.

PROTOCOL TO THE
CONVENTION FOR THE
PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
Section III

PROTOCOL NO. 1
Article

1 Protection of Property
Article 2 Right to Education
Article 3 Right to Free Elections

PROTOCOL NO. 1
The

Convention itself does not guarantee

a right to property, education, or free
elections
These were proposed by the Consultative
Assembly to the Committee of Ministers,
but no agreement had been reached when
the Convention was adopted in 1950.

PROTOCOL NO. 1
After

two years, the Council tried to

phrase an education clause that would not
run afoul of church-state controversies
and a property rights provision that would
be acceptable to the Socialist government
The Protocol in 1952 gave individuals a
right to the peaceful enjoyment of their
possessions, a right to free elections, and a
guarantee to be free from state
interference with their education.

PROTOCOL NO. 2
Article

1 Prohibition for Imprisonment of

Debt
Article 2 Freedom of Movement
Article 3 Prohibition of expulsion of
nationals
Article 4 Prohibition of collective expulsion
of aliens

PROTOCOL NO. 2
Turkeyand

theUnited Kingdomhave
signed but never ratified Protocol
GreeceandSwitzerlandhave
neither
signed nor ratified this protocol.

PROTOCOL NO. 6
Article

1 Abolition of the death penalty

Article 2 Death penalty in time of war

PROTOCOL NO. 6
Every

Council of Europe member state has

signed
and
ratified
Protocol
6,
exceptRussia, which has signed but not
ratified.
As between the States Parties the provisions
of Articles 1 to 5 of this Protocol shall be
regarded as additional Articles to the
Convention and all the provisions of the
Convention shall apply accordingly.

PROTOCOL NO. 7
Article

1 Procedural safeguards relating to

expulsion of aliens
Article 2 Right of appeal in criminal
matters
Article 3 Compensation for wrongful
conviction
Article 4 Right not to be tried or punished
twice
Article 5 Equality between spouses

PROTOCOL NO. 7
Despite

having signed the protocol more than

twenty years ago, Germany, the Netherlands
and Turkey have never ratified it.
Belgium, which signed the protocol in 2005,
ratified it in 2012, becoming the latest
member state to do so.
The United Kingdom has neither signed nor
ratified the protocol.

PROTOCOL NO. 12
Article 1 Prohibition of Discrimination
The enjoyment of any right set forth by law shall
be secured without discrimination on any ground
such as sex, race, colour, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social
origin, association with a national minority,
property, birth or other status.
No one shall be discriminated against by any
public authority on any ground such as those
mentioned in paragraph 1

PROTOCOL NO. 12
The

first case, where theEuropean Court of

Human Rightshas found a violation of
Article 1 of Protocol No. 12, wasSejdi and
Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, adjudicated
in 2009.

SEJDI AND FINCI V. BOSNIA AND

HERZEGOVINA
FACTS: The 1995 Constitution of Bosnia and
Herzegovina made a provision stating that
posts in the tripartitePresidencyof Bosnia
and
Herzegovina
and
theHouse
of
Peoples(upper house of the national
parliament)
were
reserved
for
ethnicBosniaks,Bosnian SerbsandBosnian
Croatsonly. The applicants, being a Roma and
a Jew, contested these provisions.

SEJDI AND FINCI V. BOSNIA AND

HERZEGOVINA
JUDGMENT: The Court has found that applicants'
ineligibility to stand for election to the House of
Peoples violates Article 14 ofECHR (ban of
discrimination in the field of Convention rights)
taken in conjunction with Article 3 of Protocol
No. 1 (free elections), by 14 votes to 3, and that
their ineligibility to stand for election to the
Presidency violates Article 1 of Protocol No. 12
(general ban of discrimination), by 16 votes to 1.

PROTOCOL NO. 13
Article 1 Abolition of the death penalty
Protocol

13 provides for the total abolition of

the death penalty.
All Council of Europe member states, except
three, have ratified Protocol 13.
Armeniahas signed but not ratified the
protocol.RussiaandAzerbaijanhave
not
signed it.

CONVENTION
Art 1 respecting rights
Art 2 life
Art 3 torture
Art 4 servitude
Art 5 liberty/security
Art 6 fair trial
Art 7 retroactivity
Art 8 privacy
Art 9 conscience and religion
Art 10 expression
Art 11 association
Art 12 marriage
Art 13 effective remedy
Art 14 discrimination
Art 15 derogations
Art 16 aliens
Art 17 abuse of rights
Art 18 permitted restrictions

PROTOCOL
Protocol 1
Art 1 property
Art 2 - education
Art 3 - elections

Protocol 4 - civil
imprisonment, free
movement, expulsion
Protocol 6 - restriction of
death penalty
Protocol 7 - crime and
family

Protocol 12 - discrimination
Protocol 13 - complete
abolition of death penalty

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE

PROVISION ON DISCRIMINATION IN THE
CONVENTION AND IN THE PROTOCOL?

The article's protection is limited in that it only

prohibits discrimination with respect to rights
under the Convention. Thus, an applicant must
prove discrimination in the enjoyment of a specific
right that is guaranteed elsewhere in the
Convention (e.g. discrimination based on sex Article 14 - in the enjoyment of the right to
freedom of expression - Article 10).
Protocol 12 extends this prohibition to cover
discrimination in any legal right, even when that
legal right is not protected under the Convention,
so long as it is provided for in national law.

Primary Sources:
European Convention on Human Rights
Evans v United Kingdom
Goodwin v United Kingdom
Ireland v UK
Loizidou v Turkey
Othman (Abu Qatada) v. United Kingdom
Sejdi and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Secondary Sources
Coblentz, W., & Warshaw, R. (1956). European Convention
for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
California Law Review , 44 (1), 94-104.
Kerson, D. L. (1961). The European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
California Law Review , 49 (1), 172-18.