You are probably familiar with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. But did you know that your rights and freedoms are also protected by an international convention that almost all European countries have signed? In this article, we’ll tell you what rights you have under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty designed to guarantee respect for human rights in Europe. It was negotiated within the Council of Europe and came into force in 1953. The Czech Republic joined in signing after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1992. It currently has a total of 46 member states and all European states are signatories except Russia and Belarus, which withdrew in 2022.
The Convention covers civil and political rights. Let’s take a look at the most important ones:
Have your rights guaranteed by the Convention been violated?
An available attorney can help you. We can help you enforce your rights, whether in local courts or the European Court of Human Rights.
Tip: Not everything you say in public is protected by free speech. Learn when you are endorsing a crime.
Tip: Read also how to protect your basic human rights within our republic.
For the rights of freedom contained in the Human Rights Convention to be guaranteed, there must be a mechanism to ensure that they are respected. For this reason, the European Court of Human Rights was created alongside the Convention.
It is responsible for receiving and hearing complaints about violations of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention. The Court assesses whether a complaint meets the conditions for admissibility and whether a violation of human rights has actually occurred. If the Court finds that the State has violated the rights of an individual or group, it issues a binding decision. States are then obliged to respect this decision and take remedial measures, for example by providing compensation to the victim.
The International Convention on Human Rights then regulates the functioning of this court, its composition, the conditions for the exercise of the functions of a judge of the European Court, its powers, etc.
Certain methods and principles are followed in the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights:
The principle of subsidiarity in the international context means that the primary responsibility for the protection of human rights lies with nation states. The European Court therefore intervenes only when national courts and authorities have failed to ensure effective protection of the rights set out in the Convention.
How it works in practice: Imagine a situation where there has been a violation of the right to a fair trial in a particular State (for example, due to an excessively long court procedure). The aggrieved person must first use all available remedies at national level – appeal, appeal, etc. Only when all these remedies have failed does the person have recourse to the European Court of Human Rights.
This concept gives states a certain degree of flexibility in deciding how to fulfil their obligations under the Convention. The European Court recognises that states may have different cultural, historical and social contexts and therefore gives them some discretion in the application of rights and freedoms. However, this margin is not unlimited and may be limited by the Court if State measures would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the Convention.
How it works in practice: Imagine that different countries in Europe have different age limits for the right to vote. For example, one country might give people the right to vote from the age of 16, while another would set the limit at 18. If someone challenged this age limit before the ECHR, the court would recognise that individual countries have discretion to decide on such matters that are influenced by their cultural, historical or social contexts.
Tip: Are you a victim of a criminal case? In this case, you have special procedural rights that are good to know. Therefore, let an Accessible Lawyer represent you and apply these rights to your situation.
In practice, the Convention is interpreted in an evolutionary manner. This means that the judges of the European Court interpret the provisions of the Convention in the context of current conditions and social standards, not only on the basis of what was relevant at the time the Convention was drafted. This principle enables them to respond to new challenges in the field of human rights and to take account of changes in the values and norms of European societies.
How it works in practice :Let us imagine that a certain practice was generally accepted at the time the Convention was adopted, but that societal norms and standards have changed since then. For example, a type of criminal sanction that was previously considered acceptable might now be considered inhumane or degrading. If someone were to challenge this practice before the European Court, judges would use an evolutionary interpretation of the Convention to decide whether current conditions and values require a different interpretation of rights than was the case in the past.
The Convention was adopted within the Council of Europe and has been in force since 1953, with the Czech Republic joining after 1992. It includes important rights such as the right to life, prohibition of torture, prohibition of slavery and forced labour, right to a fair trial, freedom of expression and others. It is overseen by the European Court of Human Rights, which can rule on violations of rights by states. The Convention is binding on all signatories, with the exception of Russia and Belarus, which withdrew from it in 2022.
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