An Action Plan to Strengthen the Execution of European Human Rights Rulings

NEW YORK—Six civil society groups, including the Open Society Justice Initiative, have set out an action plan for member states of the Council of Europe (CoE), aimed at improving how they carry out the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The action plan, with ten specific proposals, was issued after a high-level meeting of CoE member states in Brussels which set a deadline of June 2016 to improve the execution of ECHR judgments.

The ten action points proposed by the NGO group would require both member states and the CoE's Council of Ministers, which oversees the implementation of judgments, to report back by June 2016 on the efficacy of the mechanisms and procedures responsible for ensuring that ECHR rulings are carried out, and the role of civil society in the process.

The group also expressed its disappointment that the final political declaration of the high-level meeting of justice ministers [pdf], did not include  specific measures for improving states' execution of judgments.

The Open Society Justice Initiative has been leading NGO engagement in the efforts of the Belgian government to produce a declaration on strengthening the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights during its six-month chairmanship of the Council of Europe. 

The Justice Initiative's engagement with this process is part of its continuing efforts to strengthen human rights courts and institutions, and to realize the rule of law by ensuring that the judgments and decisions of judicial institutions are executed.