21/04/2026 European Convention on Human Rights | Legal Affairs and Human Rights | Session
The Assembly is creating a new network of its members to encourage states to implement judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.
The network will bring together parliamentarians from all the member states to encourage governments to execute judgments and to drive forward the legislative changes called for by Court rulings.
It will share best practices on the most effective ways to press for action on rulings or focus political attention on problems identified by the Court, and will hear directly from individual applicants or their representatives and civil society groups involved.
“Without implementation, there is no justice for individuals,” said PACE President Petra Bayr at a presentation of the new network yesterday on the margins of the Assembly’s plenary session. “Without implementation, the structural problems identified by the Court remain unresolved. And without implementation, the Court itself risks being overwhelmed with repetitive cases.”
“I encourage each of you to take full advantage of this platform: to share your experiences, to learn from others and, above all, to translate this knowledge into concrete action in your own parliaments.”
Representing the Court itself, Judge María Elósegui encouraged parliamentarians to play a highly active role: “The Parliamentary Assembly has always supported the Court’s work, and we count on you.”
Gianluca Esposito, the Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law at the Council of Europe, pointed out that about 80% of judgments are executed swiftly, while “about 20% create some challenges and this 20% is where we are working hard to make progress”.
PACE played a key role in drafting the European Convention on Human Rights in 1949-50 and has been its champion ever since. It elects the judges of the Court, gives opinions on changes to the Convention system and seeks to apply Convention standards in all its work.
The Assembly already has a number of other networks, alliances or platforms dedicated to specific topics.
