Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins to take part at high level conference in Switzerland on future of European Court of Human Rights

On 18 - 19 February, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins will take part at a high level conference on the future of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Interlaken, Switzerland. The conference aims at engaging ministers and other high level representatives from the European Union Member States in a discussion on issues related to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as the prospective reform of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Conference on the Future of the European Court of Human Rights in Interlaken is held as part of events of Switzerland's presidency in the Council of Europe.

The conference is to address current challenges of the ECHR and to agree on an action plan for future, including the required measures at the national level and at the level of the Court and the Council of Europe.

Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins will inform the conference participants about Latvia's position and proposals.

"Latvia as a member of the Council of Europe has been active in the development of Protocol 14 and is engaged in the ongoing reforms of the European Court of Human Rights, being interested in the enhancement of the Court's operations and the reduction of the length of proceedings. It is vital that the growing accessibility of the Court for residents of Europe and its popularity, demonstrated by the ever increasing caseload does not leave a negative impact on the quality of its rulings," Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins emphasizes.

In May 2004, Protocol 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights was opened for signing. Until now, the Russian Federation obstructed the coming into effect of the Protocol which lays down a number of measures for raising the effectiveness of the ECHR work. In January 2010, Protocol 14 was ratified by the Duma of the Russian Federation. Over the recent years, however, it has become clear that the envisaged improvements will not present a solution effective enough to allow the ECHR to handle the huge number of applications lodged each year.

According to statistics, currently over 119,000 applications are pending at the European Court of Human Rights. 57,000 new applications were lodged in 2009, which exceeds by 15% the numbers for previous years. Last year, the ECHR passed 35,460 rulings out of which judgments were delivered in more than 2000 cases, but over 33,000 cases were closed by the Court's decision.  

Further information on the Conference:

http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/topics/eu/euroc/chprce/inter.html

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