“The Assembly was at the origin of the European Convention on Human Rights 75 years ago, pressing for its adoption and proposing a first draft, and in the years since has played a vital role at the heart of the Convention system – electing judges to the Strasbourg Court to ensure their quality and independence, encouraging states to respect their rulings, and promoting the Convention as the lynchpin of rights protection across Europe.
This page – created to mark the 75th anniversary of its signing – showcases the many ways the Assembly champions the Convention. It consistently cites Convention standards in its own texts, and requires national parliaments to ensure that new laws across Europe are in line with them. As society evolves, it has called for the adoption of protocols to enshrine new rights, as well as improvements to the Convention protection machinery.
As the Convention faces fresh challenges in today’s world, when even basic principles of human rights are again in question, I am proud of the role the Assembly has played in shaping and sustaining it, and determined we will continue to do everything in our power to uphold the timeless values of freedom and human dignity that it embodies.”
Theodoros Rousopoulos
23/04/2026 - Session
PACE improves the procedure for electing judges to the European Court of Human Rights
21/04/2026 - European Convention on Human Rights
PACE launches a new network to promote implementation of Strasbourg Court rulings
21/04/2026 - Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Ahead of Chișinău declaration, PACE committee calls on states to preserve the integrity of the ECHR system
The Parliamentary Assembly played a key role in initiating and shaping the European Convention on Human Rights, proposing an initial draft in 1949 after fascinating debates which led to the main features of the Convention system as we know it today.
Under the terms of the Convention, the Assembly elects the judges of the European Court of Human Rights from a list of three candidates supplied by each contracting party. This ensures the quality and independence of the judges and provides the Court with democratic legitimacy.
Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights
The Assembly works to ensure parliaments are actively involved in the Convention system, encouraging them to regularly and rigorously verify the compatibility of national laws and practices with the Convention and the Court’s case law.
Handbook on "National parliaments as guarantors of human rights in Europe"
The Assembly works to ensure that rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are implemented by the governments concerned, and laws are adopted or revised when necessary. Cases that have not been implemented face extra scrutiny and debate. Starting in the year 2000, the Assembly produced regular reports highlighting achievements, best practice and areas in need of improvement.
The Assembly holds regular debates on the functioning of the Convention system, giving opinions on new protocols and proposing new rights as well as improvements to its machinery.
The European Court of Human Rights sometimes cites PACE resolutions in its rulings, while its President occasionally addresses the Assembly, ensuring that parliamentarians are fully briefed on the work of the Court.
The President of the ECHR, Mattias Guyomar, addresses the PACE summer 2025 session.
The Assembly has been a strong advocate of EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, which would allow individuals to bring cases against EU bodies before the Court and ensure that the two European courts - the Strasbourg Court and the Luxembourg Court - are aligned.
