The Council of Europe Conference on the Future of the European Court of Human Rights was held in Izmir on 26-27 April 2011. The conference represents a continuation of the reform of the European Court of Human Rights with the aim of increasing its efficiency, given that the number of pending cases has increased to 150,000. At the conference, representatives of the Council of Europe member states discussed possible solutions, the introduction of mechanisms and the implementation of measures that would improve the work of the Court.
Below, read the joint statement of the group of organizations sent before the conference in Izmir, as well as Amnesty International's statement after the conference and the list of petition signatories.
The petitioners call on the Council of Europe member states to reject the proposal to charge a fee for submitting applications to the European Court of Human Rights. They believe that this will limit access to the Court based on the applicant's economic situation, or their ability to pay the fee. The petition was signed by 277 organisations and law firms from across Europe, including 16 from Croatia.
ai_press_release_ecthr_28_04_2011.pdf