NGOs Respond to Belgian Proposals on European Rights System
Ten European and international civil society groups, including the Open Society Justice Initiative, have responded to proposals from Belgium that could lead to speedier and more effective execution of judgments made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
As current chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which oversees judgments coming out of the European human rights court, Belgium is holding a high-level conference in Brussels on March 26-27, entitled “Implementation of the European Convention, our shared responsibility”.
The Open Society Justice Initiative has been leading the NGO response to the draft political declaration to be launched at the conference that seeks to both strengthen the overall implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and to improve the speed and effectiveness of execution of ECHR judgments. The declaration will focus on both national governments' responsibilities to take all necessary action to realize the judgments at home, and the role of the Committee of Ministers to press governments to take these judgments seriously.
The letter welcomes some elements in the draft declaration, including a commitment to enhance the effectiveness of the system of supervision of the execution of judgments. But it also highlights a number of areas where the proposed language risks undermining the independence of the court or minimizing the important role that civil society plays in demanding implementation of the Convention.
The joint letter states: "All efforts by executive, parliamentary and judicial authorities to better integrate the Convention standards into national law, policy and practice must be encouraged and we strongly support commitments by States Parties to improve mechanisms for domestic implementation of the Convention. Effective execution of judgments is at the core of securing the effectiveness of the Court and the Convention system as a whole."
In addition the Justice Initiative, the letter is signed by:
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Law Society of England and Wales, the International Commission of Jurists, EHRAC, the AIRE Centre, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, and Nederlands Juristen Comite voor de Mensenrechten.
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.