Conference on Systemic Non-Implementation of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights - What Can Civil Society Do?

About the Conference

 A key threat facing the system of the European Convention on Human Rights is the non-implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”). Of the “leading” judgments handed down from the ECtHR in the last ten years – i.e. judgments identifying structural or systemic problems – 47% remain pending implementation.

Overall, there are 1300 leading ECtHR judgments pending execution – which have been pending for an average of 6 years and 2 months. Every one of these judgments represents a human rights problem which has not been resolved. Their systemic non-implementation represents a threat to European values and the democratic way of life.

EIN sees common barriers to effective ECtHR implementation across different states, including: a lack of political will on behalf of governments; the absence of effective structures at the national level to systematically promote implementation; negative public narratives around ECtHR judgments; and a lack of significant international pressure to implement.

The Conference, organised on 22 and 23 June in Strasbourg, triggered open discussion to highlight the main barriers to ECtHR implementation, identify common solutions, and share the solutions across European civil society. To learn more about the event, go to the Conference webpage.