EIN Webinar: Why should NHRIs get involved in the implementation of Strasbourg judgments?

On 10th September, EIN organized the first of a series of 4 webinars for representatives of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), about the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”). This event was co-organised with the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRIs) and the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the Council of Europe.

Tailored for the experience and needs of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), the webinars aim to inform and train NHRI representatives about the importance of implementation work and the ways to mainstream it across their institution, to help improve the overall human rights situation in Europe.

Leena Leikas

Webinar 1 focused about the reasons why NHRIs should get involved in the implementation of ECtHR judgments. It was open by Leena Leikas, chair of ENNHRI Legal working group, Human Rights Expert at the Finnish Human Rights Centre.

The ECtHR can trigger positive reforms to enhance human rights protections across Europe. To have this effect, however, they must be properly implemented. Of the ‘leading’ cases handed down by the ECtHR in the last ten years – i.e. cases which reveal structural or systemic problems – 43 percent[1] are still pending implementation. This has severe consequences for human rights protections. During this opening webinar, participants were able to learn about:

1) The scale of the non-implementation challenge and the need for greater involvement by NHRIs.

See the video by EIN Director George Stafford.

2) The involvement of NHRIs so far in the ECtHR judgment execution process at the Strasbourg level.

See the video by Nikolaos Sitaropoulos, Head of Division, Department of the Execution of Judgments, Council of Europe

Dr Simona Drenik Bavdek

3) A best practice story from the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia on how Slovenia managed to cut down the number of non-implemented judgments by setting up a strong structure at the domestic level. You can find here the power point presentation of Dr. Simona Drenik Bavdek, Assistant Head of the Centre for Human Rights at the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia

You can also have access to the full video of the webinar.

Webinar 2 will take place on 17th September, and will focus on “How can NHRIs take part in the judgments implementation process?”.

[1] EIN has carried out an analysis of the CoE’s official statistics. Our methodology is explained on our website.