Sort the verbs according to their positive or negative meaning?

• Sort the verbs according to their POSITIVE or NEGATIVE meaning?

• to protect; to observe; to violate; to diminish; to acquire; to guarantee; to abuse; to grant; to respect; to restrict; to ensure

the first and most widely based European political institution

• the first and most widely based European political institution

• an international intergovernmental organization

• established on 5 May 1949 by 10 countries; based in Strasbourg

• comprises 47 member states; covers virtually

• the entire European continent (800 million people)

• Main bodies:

• Committee of Ministers

• Parliamentary Assembly

• European Court of Human Rights

• Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

• The Commissioner for Human Rights

• The Conference on International NGOs

Primary aim

• Primary aim

• to create a common democratic and legal area throughout the whole of

• the continent, ensuring respect for its fundamental values:

• Human Rights... Democracy... Rule of Law

• Main goals

• safeguarding human rights, democracy and the rule of law

• promoting social and economic rights

• combating racism, xenophobia and intolerance

• promoting cultural diversity in Europe

• finding common solutions to society’s problems

• developing democratic citizenship through educational, youth, sport and heritage initiatives

• It is active in all areas affecting European society except defence.

Official name = The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

• Official name = The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

• an international treaty - leading international legal instrument safeguarding human rights

• signed on 4 November 1950 in Rome by members of the Council of Europe (15 countries)

• entered into force on 3 September 1953 after it had been ratified

• today - 47 state parties/contracting parties – signatories to the convention

• the Convention and additional protocols oblige signatories to guarantee various civil and political freedoms

• Right to life (Pravo na život)

• Right to liberty and security (Pravo na slobodu i sigurnost)

• Right to a fair hearing/trial (Pravo na pravično suđenje)

• Right to respect for private and family life (Pravo na poštovanje privatnog i porodičnog života)

• Freedom of expression (Sloboda izražavanja)

• Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Sloboda mišljenja, savjesti i vjeroispovijesti)

• Protection of property (Zaštita imovine)

• Right to marry (Pravo na sklapanje braka)

• . . . . .

• torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

• slavery and forced labour

• arbitrary and unlawful detention

• discrimination in the enjoyment of the rights and

• freedoms set out in the Convention

• prohibition of abuse of rights

-the Convention is applicable at national level

• -the Convention is applicable at national level

• -it has been incorporated into the legislation of the States Parties

• Courts with the jurisdiction to enforce the Convention:

• domestic courts

• the European Court of Human Rights

it evolves

• it evolves

• - when protocols add new rights: (eg. Protocol No. 13 concerning the abolition of death penalty in all circumstances, or Protocol No. 12 on non-discrimination)

• by means of the interpretation of its provisions by the European Court of Human Rights -through its case-law the Court has made the Convention a living instrument

texts which add one or more rights to the original Convention or amend certain of its provisions

• texts which add one or more rights to the original Convention or amend certain of its provisions

• protocols which add rights to the Convention are binding only on those States that have signed and ratified them (a State that has merely signed a protocol without ratifying it will not be bound by its provisions)

• to date – 14 additional protocols have been adopted (signed and ratified)

• Protocol 15. and Protocol 16. in the process of signing and ratification

• judicial organ of the Council of Europe

• set up under the Convention and its Protocols in 1959

• AIM = to ensure the observance of the engagements undertaken by the Parties

• - supervises implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights in member states

• - examines violations of the European Convention on Human Rights

• based in Strasbourg in the Human Rights Building

• JURISDICTION

• - to resolve all disputes concerning the interpretation and application of

• the Convention and the protocols

two types of application:

• two types of application:

• individual applications (lodged by any person, group of individuals, company or NGO claiming to be the victim of a violation by one of the Contracting Parties of the rights set forth in the Convention or the protocols)

• inter-state applications (brought by one State against another – any Contracting Party may refer to the Court any alleged breach of the provisions of the Convention and the protocols by another High Contracting Party)

two main stages

• two main stages

• 1) ADMISSIBILITY STAGE (certain requirements must be met)

• 2) MERITS STAGE (examination of the complaints / actual violations of rights from the convention)

• - committee finding that an application is not admissible will declare the case inadmissible

the application must be brought against a state which has ratified the convention (not against any third State or against an individual)

• the application must be brought against a state which has ratified the convention (not against any third State or against an individual)

• the application must concern an event that occured after the ratification of the convention by the state concerned

• domestic remedies must be exhausted

• an applicant’s allegations must concern one or more of the rights defined in the Convention

• applications must be lodged within six months following the last judicial decision in the case

• the applicant must be, personally and directly, a victim of a violation of the Convention

• the applicant must have suffered a significant disadvantage

• ____________________________________________________________________

• (VIDEO ON ADMISSIBILITY CONDITIONS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcbDDhs5ZVA&list=PLT-6qb4oU5fhzKQdkQk6O7UPNhSuAWsB9)

the number of judges on the Court equals the number of Contracting Parties (47 at present)

• the number of judges on the Court equals the number of Contracting Parties (47 at present)

• elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from lists of three candidates proposed by each State for a non-renewable term of 9 years

• sit on the Court in their individual capacity - hear cases as individuals and do not represent their States - fully independent and impartial

• 1 The judges shall be elected for a period of nine years. They may not be re-elected.

• 2 The terms of office of judges shall expire when they reach the age of 70.

• 3 The judges shall hold office until replaced. They shall, however, continue to deal with such cases as they already have under consideration.

• 4 No judge may be dismissed from office unless the other judges decide.

Cases are heard by judges sitting in:

• Cases are heard by judges sitting in:

• 1. Single-judge formation – (rules on admissibility of individual applications)

• 2. Three-judge Committees – (rule on admissibility and merits of the case by unanimous vote)

• 3. Seven-judge Chambers (rule on the admissibility and merits of a case - by a majority vote)

• 4. The Grand Chamber of 17 judges (the President of the Court , the Vice-Presidents, the Presidents of the Chambers and other judges chosen in accordance with the rules of the Court)

• - hears cases referred to it either

• 1-after relinquishment by a Chamber or

• 2-when a request for referral has been accepted

a) where a case pending before a Chamber raises a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention or the protocols thereto, or

• a) where a case pending before a Chamber raises a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention or the protocols thereto, or

• b) where the resolution of a question before the Chamber might have a result inconsistent with a judgment previously delivered by the Court

• the Chamber may, at any time before it has rendered its judgment, relinquish jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber, unless one of the parties to the case objects

cases can be brought directly by individuals (assistance of a lawyer is not necessary at the start of the proceedings)

• cases can be brought directly by individuals (assistance of a lawyer is not necessary at the start of the proceedings)

• it is sufficient to send the Court a duly completed application form with the requisite document

• the registration of an application by the Court is no guarantee that it will be admissible or successful on the merits

• “easy” access to the Court - no fees for proceedings before the Court

• the procedure is adversarial and public

judgments finding violations are binding on the States concerned and they are obliged to execute them – the execution of decisions is controlled by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe

• judgments finding violations are binding on the States concerned and they are obliged to execute them – the execution of decisions is controlled by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe

• APPEALS ?

• inadmissibility decisions by Committees and Grand Chamber judgments are final and cannot be appealed against

• the parties have three months following the delivery of a Chamber judgment to request REFERRAL OF THE CASE to the Grand Chamber for fresh consideration

official languages – English and French

• official languages – English and French

• applications – drafted in one of the official languages of the Contracting States

• when application declared admissible- the procedure continues in the Court’s official languages

• exceptionally President of the Grand Chamber may allow use of the language of application

- a member state of the Council of Europe since 1996 (accession on 6 November 1996)

• - a member state of the Council of Europe since 1996 (accession on 6 November 1996)

• - Committee of Ministers – representative Ivo Stier, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

• - Parliamentary Assembly - 5 representatives + 5 substitutes

• ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights on 5 November 1997

• judge to the European Court of Human Rights – Ksenija Turković since 2 January 2013 (professor at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb)

1. Read the text on p. 60, 61 and do the following

• 1. Read the text on p. 60, 61 and do the following

• exercise:

• Exercise 1, p. 62

• 2. Translate Article 6 from the European Convention on Human Rights into Croatian.

to come/enter into force = stupiti na snagu

• to come/enter into force = stupiti na snagu

• Member states of the Council of Europe = zemlje članice Vijeće Europe

• states parties / contracting parties of a convention/a treaty / signatories to the convention = zemlje potpisnice konvencije / međunarodnog ugovora

• to safeguard = štititi, osigurati, jamčiti

• to accede – accession = pristupiti, pridružiti se – pristupanje, pridruživanje

• to ratify - ratification = ratificirati - ratifikacija

• a complaint = žalba

• to breach / violate / infringe a right – a breach / violation / infringement = kršiti – krštenje prava

• to observe a right – observance = poštivati – poštivanje prava

Turn the following verbs into nouns.

• Turn the following verbs into nouns.

• VERB NOUN

• to accede accession

• to apply

• to admit

• to enforce

• to enter into force

• to expire

• to implement

• to observe

• to ratify

• to refer

• to violate

VERB NOUN

• VERB NOUN

• to accede accession

• to apply application

• to admit admission

• to enforce enforcement

• to enter into force entry into force

• to expire expiry

• to implement implementation

• to observe observance

• to ratify ratification

• to refer referral

• to violate violation

Rajak v. Croatia

• Rajak v. Croatia

• Read the judgement and discuss the following questions with your partner.

• What was Rajak’s complaint about?

• What did the Court find concerning the conduct of the Croatian authorities?

• Which rights were violated?

Translate Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances

• Translate Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances

• ARTICLE 1

• Abolition of the death penalty

• The death penalty shall be abolished. No one shall be

• condemned to such penalty or executed.

• ARTICLE 2

• Prohibition of derogations

• No derogation from the provisions of this Protocol shall be made under Article

• 15 of the Convention.

• ARTICLE 3

• Prohibition of reservations

• No reservation may be made under Article 57 of the Convention in respect of the

• provisions of this Protocol.