European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), often referred to informally as the "Strasbourg Court", was created to systematise the hearing of human rights complaints against States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by the Council of Europe in 1950 (at present, all member states of the Council of Europe are also parties to the Convention, but there is no necessary connection between the two). The Court's mission is to enforce the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, by ruling over complaints against human rights violations committed by States Parties, and brought to the Court either by other States Parties or by individuals subject to the jurisdiction of a State Party.