Profile: European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights aims to apply and to protect the civil and political rights of the continent's citizens.
These principles are set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, a landmark treaty that was drawn up in the aftermath of World War II.
The court, which was set up in 1959 in the French city of Strasbourg, considers cases brought by individuals, organisations and states against the countries which are bound by the convention; namely, all European nations except Belarus.

OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS ISSUES
These cases have many forms; they include allegations of human rights abuses, discrimination, the improper conduct of trials and the mistreatment of prisoners.
RECENT RULINGS
Jul 2006: Holds Russian military responsible for disappearance of Chechen man in 2000
Dec 2005: Orders Turkey to settle property disputes arising from 1974 Cyprus invasion
Nov 2005: Upholds ban on headscarves in Turkish universities
Oct 2005: Rules against UK ban on vote for prisoners
May 2005: Rules that Turkey's 1999 trial of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was unfair
Mar 2005: Rejects German compensation claims for property seized by Soviet forces in World War II
Feb 2005: Finds Russia guilty of human rights abuses in ChechnyaCountries must comply with the court's verdicts, although the court cannot directly enforce this.
Most of the nations which have signed the human rights convention, including the UK, have incorporated its principles into their own laws. The court will only hear a case when all domestic legal avenues have been exhausted.
Moreover, plaintiffs must show that they have been a direct victim of an alleged violation and they cannot bring cases against individuals or private bodies.
The court was established and is overseen by the Council of Europe, a pan-European human rights body.
The council is a distinct entity and is not a branch of the European Union (EU). The European Human Rights Convention is its landmark treaty.
The European Court of Human Rights should not be confused with the European Court of Justice - the EU's highest court.

FACTS
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS ISSUES
Established: 1959
Headquarters: Strasbourg, France
Official languages: English, French
Case applications: 50,500 (2006)
Judgements delivered: 1,560 (2006)

LEADERS
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS ISSUES
Court president: Jean-Paul Costa

French judge Jean-Paul Costa presides over the courtThe court is made up of 46 judges, equating to the number of countries that have signed up to the European Human Rights Convention.
The judges are elected to six-year terms by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. They sit as individuals, rather than as representatives of their home countries.
A three-judge committee considers each application to the court, and can sift out unfounded cases by a unanimous decision. Seven-member chambers consider most of the cases that are taken up by the court.
In exceptional circumstances, a case may be referred to a 17-member Grand Chamber, whose judgements are final.

ISSUES
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS ISSUES
The court has seen its case load grow rapidly, from just under 6,000 cases in 1998 to almost 14,000 by 2001. In 2006 it received more than 50,000 new requests to judge cases.
Much of this increase has come from the newer democracies of central and eastern Europe, where there is less trust in local judicial systems. Russia is the biggest single source of cases.
It can take years for the judges to reach a final verdict. A backlog of cases - running to 90,000 in early 2007 - has prompted calls for more judges to be appointed and for the the court's functions to be streamlined, especially for minor cases.
The court has been described by the head of the Council of Europe as a victim of its own success.