03-03-2010-
On 18th and 19th February 2010, a conference on the future of the European Court of Human Rights took place in Interlaken, Switzerland, in the presence of the Council of Europe’s 47 member states.
The purpose of the conference, organised by the Swiss presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, was to reaffirm the commitment of the member states to the protection of human rights in Europe, as well as their determination to enable the European Court of Human Rights, an essential element of the protection mechanism, to meet the increasing number of applications.
H.E. Mr Philippe Narmino, Director of the Judicial Services, made an address during which he stressed the importance of the right of individual petition and that accorded by Monaco to implement the principle of subsidiarity. He also expressed his opinion on the options envisaged concerning the implementation of a filtering mechanism for the increasing number of applications that inundate the Court, considered as one of the possible solutions for the backlog.
The Monegasque delegation* moreover welcomed the significant move forward represented by the Russian Federation’s ratification of Protocol 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (this State submitted its instruments of ratification to the Council of Europe just before the official opening of the Conference).
Upon the closure of the conference, a declaration known as the “Interlaken Declaration” was adopted which concerns future developments to the Court and the statutory and structural changes necessary. The Committee of Ministers will be entrusted with adopting the measures needed to implement the action plan attached to the Declaration.
Information: Human Rights and Individual Freedom Unit on (+377) 98 98 89 04 and the Office of Judicial Services (+377 98 98 88 11)
* The Monegasque delegation was composed of H.E. Mr Philippe Narmino, H.E. Mr Robert Fillon, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Monaco to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Ms Antonella Sampo-Couma, Principal Administrator within the Office of Judicial Services and Mr Jean-Laurent Ravera, Secretary for External Relations. |