O.S. Chernishova. Long-awaited Reform: What Will Change In the European Court after 1 June 2010?

Abstract: The article covers the latest developments in the work of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg resulting from the adoption and coming into force of the amendment to the European Convention of Human Rights – Protocol No 14. The said Protocol has been ratified by the Russian Federation on 10 February 2010 and comes into force on 1 June 2010. The article contains three parts. The first briefly covers the reasons for and the history of drafting and adopting Protocol No 14, with reference to the latest figures and the need to ensure a speedier processing of cases. It also mentions some of the proposals for the reform that have been examined but rejected by the working group. The second part covers the main aspects of the Protocol, with special emphasis on the following three: processing of inadmissible cases, new admissibility criterion of “causing no significant disadvantage” and processing of wellfounded applications. The author describes the amendments to the Convention and to the Rules of the Court as well as the possible practical consequences these may entail for the parties to the proceedings and the Court itself. The article then goes on to cover the remaining aspects of the reform, in particular the appointment of judges and execution of the Court’s judgments. Finally, the article describes the Interlaken conference of February 2010 and the main conclusions contained in the Declaration. It analyses the most important proposals for the reform of the Court and the steps which are to be taken by the states, the European Court and the Council of Europe bodies with an aim to maintain the effective system of the protection of human rights created under the European Convention.

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