Inter-State Applications under the European Convention on Human Rights – Situating the Instrument in the Current Human Rights Landscape

Abstract

Abstract Recent events and developments in Europe have called for the use of the inter-State application under Article 33 the European Convention on Human Rights (echr, the Convention), a challenging situation (1) for the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, the Court) on many levels, including the resource situation of the Court. The inter-State application was the centerpiece of international human rights supervision in the original 1950 Convention. This contribution sketches out the evolution of the inter-State application over some seven decades of history (2) of the echr. It highlights strengths and raises awareness of existing limitations (3). One aspect that merits attention is the evidential side in this type of proceedings. Establishing a judicial record of the events under the Court’s scrutiny is a value to be appraised here in its aims and complexities.