THE IMPACT OF THE REFORMS OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ON STRENGTHENING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is the most famous and

perhaps the most successful institution of the Council of Europe (CoE).

Within the CoE, there is an informal opinion that the Court is a "victim"

of its own success. The ECtHR has been continuously facing an

increasing influx of applications by European citizens pointing to human

rights violations. This phenomenon has necessitated the implementation

of effective reforms, both in the European Convention on Human Rights

(ECHR) and in the modalities of functioning of the ECtHR. This paper

analyzes the effects of reforms that have been implemented over the

years, with regard to the basic text of the ECHR, with a focus on the

efficiency of the functioning of the Court as well as the overall system

related to the protection of human rights. To that end, a special review is

made of the content of the declarations arising from high level

conferences organized by certain Member States during their

chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. In this context, this paper

analyzes the declarations that arise as a result of high-level conferences

in Interlaken, Izmir, Brighton, Brussels and Copenhagen.