Last Updated: Thursday, 29 September 2022, 11:15 GMT

Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights

The Court, based in Strasbourg, was set up as a result of the European Convention on Human Rights, created in 1950. This set out a catalogue of civil and political rights and freedoms. It allows people to lodge complaints against States which have signed up to the Convention for alleged violations of those rights. Although founded in 1950, the Court did not actually come into existence until 1959. It gained its present form as a single European Court of Human Rights when Protocol No. 11 to the ECHR took effect in 1998.

The Court is currently made up of 47 judges, one in principle for every State signed up to the Convention. They are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and serve for six years. Judges sit on the Court as individuals and do not represent their country.  Website: www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=home
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Showing 1-10 of 13 results
CASE OF HOTI v. CROATIA (Application no. 63311/14)

failure to regularize the residence status of a stateless migrant for many years considered violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life)

26 April 2018 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Legal Instrument: 1954 Statelessness Convention | Topic(s): Citizenship / Nationality law - Right to a nationality - Statelessness | Countries: Albania - Croatia - Serbia

Deprivation of citizenship

January 2018 | Publisher: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law Compilations/Analyses

Ramadan v. Malta

On 21 June, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgement in Ramadan v. Malta, a case concerning the revocation of Maltese citizenship that rendered the applicant stateless. The Court did not find any violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), but noted that arbitrary revocation of citizenship can in certain circumstances be problematic under Article 8 because of its impact on the right to private life. Judge Pinto de Albuquerque’s dissenting opinion called on the Court to recognize the right to citizenship as an autonomous right under the ECHR and referenced to UNHCR’s Global Action Plan to End Statelessness. A request to refer the case to the Grand Chamber is currently pending.

21 June 2016 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Legal Instrument: 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) | Topic(s): Citizenship / Nationality law - Statelessness | Countries: Malta

Petropavlovskis v. Latvia

13 January 2015 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Citizenship / Nationality law - Denial of nationality - Effective remedy - Freedom of assembly and association - Freedom of expression - Naturalization - Persecution based on political opinion - Rights of non-citizens - Statelessness | Countries: Latvia

Petropavlovskis v. Latvia

13 January 2015 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Citizenship / Nationality law - Denial of nationality - Effective remedy - Freedom of assembly and association - Freedom of expression - Naturalization - Persecution based on political opinion - Rights of non-citizens - Statelessness | Countries: Latvia

Mennesson c. France

26 June 2014 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Children's rights - Citizenship / Nationality law - Denial of nationality - Right to family life | Countries: France - United States of America

Labassee c. France

26 June 2014 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Children's rights - Citizenship / Nationality law - Denial of nationality - Right to family life | Countries: France - United States of America

Kuric et autres c. Slovénie

Submission by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the case of Kuric and Others v. Slovenia

26 June 2012 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Citizenship / Nationality law - Denial of nationality - Proof of nationality - Rights of non-citizens - Statelessness - Statelessness | Countries: Croatia - Slovenia

Kuric and others v. Slovenia

Submission by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the case of Kuric and Others v. Slovenia

26 June 2012 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Citizenship / Nationality law - Denial of nationality - Proof of nationality - Rights of non-citizens - Statelessness - Statelessness | Countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina - Croatia - North Macedonia - Serbia - Slovenia

Genovese v. Malta

11 October 2011 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Citizenship / Nationality law - Denial of nationality - Multiple nationality - Proof of nationality - Right to a nationality | Countries: Malta

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