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The Council of Europe • The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg (France), now covers virtually the entire European continent, with its 47 member countries. Founded on 5 May 1949 by 10 countries, the Council of Europe seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals.
Human Rights • The protection of human rights is a basic goal of the Council of Europe • Main aims: • to reinforce European solidarity while guaranteeing respect for individuals, their rights and freedoms • To identify new threats to human rights and dignity • To promote public awareness of the importance of human rights
Organs of the Council of Europe • The Parliamentary Assembly (representatives of national parliaments of member states) • The Committee of Ministers, a decision-making body (ministers of foreign affairs of all member states) • Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe * The Committee of Ministers – odbor ministara
The European Convention on Human Rights • Drawn up within the Council of Europe • Starting point was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) • Signed in Rome on November 4, 1950 • Entered into force on September 3, 1953
Video clip about the Convention • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOcmUQTgjCw&feature=plcp&context=C335a35cUDOEgsToPDskI6W3znOYbNheSgWr1z38n3 • Watch the clip and write down at least three things guaranteed by the Convention and three things prohibited by it!
Establishment of the Court • The Convention established an enforcement mechanism with jurisdiction to find against the States that do not fulfil their undertakings – the European Court of Human Rights • ECHR is a judicial organ of the Council of Europe • It is a supranational court
Importance of the Convention • The most effective human rights treaty in the world • A treaty by which the member states of the Council of Europe have sought to guarantee fundamental human rights to all those within its jurisdiction • The protection machinery set up in Strasbourg
The rights and freedoms protected by the Convention • The right to life, liberty and security of person • The right to a fair trial in civil and criminal matters • Freedom of thought, conscience and religion • Freedom of expression (including freedom of the press)
Prohibitions • The Convention prohibits: • Torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment • The death penalty • Slavery and forced labour • Discrimination in the enjoyment of rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention • Expulsion of a state’s own nationals
Protocols • A protocol to the Convention is a text which adds one or more rights to the original Convention or amends certain of its provisions • To date, 16 additional protocols have been adopted
Evolution of the Convention • The Convention evolves especially by means of the interpretation of its provisions by the European Court of Human Rights. • Through its case law, the Court has extended the rights afforded and has applied them to situations that were not foreseeable when the Convention was first adopted
Organisation of the Court • Composed of a number of judges equal to that of the contracting states (currently 47) • Judges are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for a non-renewable term of nine years • Judges are impartial arbiters, rather than representatives of any State • The Registry is the body of staff that provides the Court with legal and administrative support in its judicial work. It is made up of lawyers, administrative and technical staff and translators.
Functions of the Court • The Court applies the Convention • Its task is to ensure that States respect the rights and guarantees set out in the Convention • It does this by examining complaints known as “applications” lodged by individuals or States
The Court’s composition Cases are heard by one of four main formations: • A single judge can decide on the admissibility of an application • A committee of 3 judges can rule on the admissibility of cases as well as their merits • A chamber of 7 judges decides on cases involving more complex issues • The Grand Chamber of 17 judges hears special cases
The Court’s jurisdiction • The Court has jurisdiction to hear allegations of violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and does so on receiving individual or inter-State applications • The Court cannot take up cases of its own motion
Applications • Individual applications are lodged by any person, group, company or NGO having a complaint about a violation of their rights • State application is brought by one State against another • Almost all applications so far have been lodged by individuals
Proceedings before the Court • The admissibility stage (the application must meet certain requirements) • The merits stage (the examination of the complaint) • If the application is declared admissible (1 out of every 20 cases), the Court advocates reaching a friendly settlement, which ranges from a change in the law(s) to compensation • The procedure is adversarial (the parties to a case have to find the evidence themselves) and public
Judgments • Where the Court finds that a member State has violated one or more rights and guarantees, the Court delivers a judgment • Judgments are binding: the countries concerned are under an obligation to comply with them
The application • The application can be written in one of the Court’s official languages (English and French) or in the language of one of the States that have ratified the Convention • It must contain a brief summary of the facts, and indication of the Convention rights that have allegedly been violated, the remedies already used, copies of the decision given in the case and the signature of the applicant • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA_iGhvxYFM&feature=youtu.be
Rules for applications • A non-anonymous petitioner must bring the case to the Court within six months of the final domestic ruling on it • The issue must be a violation of a guarantee set forth in the European Convention • The applicant must be a “victim”
The Court’s activity • Over 30,000 new applications are lodged every year • 64% of the violations found by the Court concern Article 6 (right to a fair hearing) or Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property)
Vocabulary • Council of Europe – Vijeće Europe • Treaty – međunarodni ugovor • Jurisdiction – nadležnost • The death penalty – smrtna kazna • Expulsion – progon • Parliamentary Assembly – Parlamentarna Skupština • Term of office – mandat • Violation of human rights – kršenje ljudskih prava • Adversarial procedure – akuzatorni postupak • Binding judgment – obvezujuća presuda • Admissibility – prihvatljivost zahtjeva • Domestic court ruling – odluka nacionalnog suda
ECHR The conscience of Europe • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlgEbKWuvxc • When was ECHR set up? • What is the most common complaint to ECHR? • Which social issues has it dealt with so far? Write down at least three of them.
Complete the main steps of the procedure with the ECHR by filling in an appropriate verb: • The Court _______ about the admissibility of the case. • The Court _________ a case admissible or inadmissible. • Merits stage ____________ after the admissibility stage. • The Court __________ a state party of the complaint. • The parties can ________ their observations or other material to the Court. • A chamber __________ a judgement, which becomes final after three months. • The applicant may _________ referral of the case to the Grand Chamber. • The judgement of the Grand Chamber ________ final.
Answer key • The Court proves/checks/examines/decides about the admissibility of the case. • The Court declares a case admissible or inadmissible. • Merits stage follows after the admissibility stage. • The Court notifies a state party of the complaint. • The parties can submit their observations or other material to the Court. • A chamber delivers a judgement, which becomes final after three months. • The applicant may request referral of the case to the Grand Chamber. • The judgement of the Grand Chamber is final.
Translate the following: • ARTICLE 2 • Right to life • 1. Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. • 2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary: • (a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence; • (b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; • (c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.
Vocabulary • Execution of a sentence of a court – izvršenje presude • Conviction of a crime- osuda za kazneno djelo • In contravention of – u suprotnosti s • Unlawful violence – protupravno nasilje • Lawfully detained person – osoba zakonito lišena slobode • To quel a riot – suzbiti pobunu • Insurrection - ustanak
Translation • ČLANAK 2. • Pravo na život • 1. Pravo svakoga na život zaštićeno je zakonom. Nitko ne smije biti namjerno lišen života osim u izvršenju sudske presude na smrtnu kaznu za kazneno djelo za koje je ta kazna predviđena zakonom. • 2. Nije u suprotnosti s odredbama ovog članka lišenje života proizašlo iz upotrebe sile koja je bila nužno potrebna: • a) pri obrani bilo koje osobe od protupravnog nasilja; • b) pri zakonitom uhićenju ili pri sprečavanju bijega osobe zakonito lišene slobode; • c) radi suzbijanja pobune ili ustanka u skladu sa zakonom.
Article 6Right to a fair trial • (1) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly but the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interests of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice. • (2) Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. • (3) Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:(a) to be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him.(b) to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence.(c) to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require.(d) to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him.(e) to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in court. • Translate Par. 3!
3. Svatko optužen za kazneno djelo ima najmanje sljedeća prava: • a) da u najkraćem roku bude obaviješten, potanko i na jeziku koji razumije, o prirodi i razlozima optužbe koja se podiže protiv njega; • b) da ima odgovarajuće vrijeme i mogućnost za pripremu svoje obrane; • c) da se brani sam ili uz branitelja po vlastitom izboru, a ako nema dovoljno sredstava platiti branitelja, ima pravo na besplatnog branitelja, kad to nalažu interesi pravde; • d) da ispituje ili dade ispitati svjedoke optužbe i da se osigura prisutnost i ispitivanje svjedoka obrane pod istim uvjetima kao i svjedoka optužbe; • e) besplatnu pomoć tumača ako ne razumije ili ne govori jezik koji se upotrebljava na sudu.
Match the verbs in the left column with the nouns in the right column:
Complete the paragraphs with the words below: press, a person, death, degrading, fair, freedom The rights and freedoms protected by the Convention include: the right to life, liberty and security of ___________; the right to a __________ trial in civil and criminal matters; _____________ of thought, conscience and religion, and freedom of expression (including freedom of the ___________). The Convention, among other things, prohibits torture and inhuman or _________ treatment or punishment, the __________ penalty, slavery and forced labour.
