The European Court of Human Rights is an international court established in 1959.
Since 1998, it has operated as a full-time court, where individuals have the right to apply directly.
For almost fifty years, the Court has delivered more than 10,000 judgments. These judgments are binding on the respective states and lead to changes in legislation and administrative practices in many areas. The Court's case law makes the Convention a truly living instrument, ready to meet new challenges and to consolidate the rule of law and democracy in Europe.
The Court is located in Strasbourg, in the Human Rights Building, which was designed in 1994 by the British architect Lord Richard Rogers. The building is known worldwide. It is from this building that the Court supervises the respect for the rights of 700 million Europeans, who are citizens of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights.
