The European Convention on Human Rights – how does it work?

The Human Rights Treaty protects the rights of more than 830 million people in Europe.

All 47 member states of the Council of Europe have registered with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)a treaty designed to protect people’s human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Governments, parliaments and courts in each country are primarily responsible for enforcing the rights set out in the treaty.

However, the European Court of Human Rights acts as a safety net. Individuals can bring human rights complaints against any of the 47 Member States to the court in Strasbourg, after exhausting all possible opportunities for appeal at national level.

If the European Court finds that the applicant’s human rights have been violated, the country concerned must do so provide justice to the individual. It may also be that steps need to be taken to ensure this the same thing doesn’t happen again. The actions taken by national authorities in response to court decisions are supervised by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.