European Convention on Human Rights
Also known as Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, ECHR
international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe
AI overview
The European Convention on Human Rights is an international treaty that sets out fundamental rights and freedoms that people in Europe are entitled to, such as the right to life, freedom of expression, and fair trial rights. It matters because it gives people a legal way to protect themselves if their rights are violated and helps ensure that European governments respect basic human dignity and freedoms.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- human-rights-convention.org
- Image
- Council of Europe (orthographic projection).svg
Show 5 more facts
- Commons category
- European Convention on Human Rights
- point in time
- 1950-11-04
- work available at URL
- www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/Convention_FRA
- short name
- ECHR
- effective date
- 1953-09-03
Sources (4)
~40 min read
Article
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights or ECHR) is a supranational international treaty designed to protect human rights and political freedoms throughout Europe. It was opened for signature on 4 November 1950 by the member states of the newly formed Council of Europe and entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are parties to the Convention, and any new member is required to ratify it at the earliest opportunity.
The ECHR was directly inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. Its main difference lies in the existence of an international court, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), whose judgments are legally binding on states parties. This ensures that the rights set out in the Convention are not just principles but are concretely enforceable through individual complaint or inter-state complaint procedures.