My-Rights aims to help people located within the Council of Europe's jurisdiction understand what rights of the European Convention of Human Rights are relevant to them.
My-Rights provides the following three pathways to assist people to understand their rights:
Currently, the only cases in the My-Rights database are all English judgments that are accessible in HTML format from the HUDOC database.
The following information is reproduced exactly from the European Court of Human Rights' website or from material within this website.
What are human rights
"States that have ratified the Convention, also known as “States Parties”, have undertaken to secure and guarantee to everyone within their jurisdiction, not only their nationals, the fundamental civil and political rights defined in the [The European Convention on Human Rights]."
Please click the following link to see the entire European Convention on Human Rights
What is the European Convention on Human Rights
"The European Convention on Human Rights is an international treaty under which the member States of the Council of Europe promise to secure fundamental civil and political rights, not only to their own citizens but also to everyone within their jurisdiction. The Convention, which was signed on 4 November 1950 in Rome, entered into force in 1953."
Who owes me human rights:
"Cases can only be brought against one or more States that have ratified the Convention. Any applications against third States or individuals, for example, will be declared inadmissible."
What should I do if someone breaches my human rights:
"You may lodge an application with the Court if you consider that you have personally and directly been the victim of a violation of the rights and guarantees set out in the Convention or its Protocols. The alleged violation must have been committed by one of the States bound by the Convention."
Who can bring a case for a breach of human rights:
"The Convention makes a distinction between two types of application: individual applications lodged by any person, group of individuals, company, or NGO having a complaint about a violation of their rights, and inter-State applications brought by one State against another. Since the Court was established, almost all applications have been lodged by individuals who have brought their cases directly to the Court alleging one or more violations of the Convention."
What is the European Court of Human Rights:
"The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1959. It rules on individual or State applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1998 it has sat as a full-time court and individuals can apply to it directly. The Court examined hundreds of thousands applications since it was set up. Its judgments are binding on the countries concerned and have led governments to alter their legislation and administrative practice in a wide range of areas. The Court’s case-law makes the Convention a modern and powerful living instrument for meeting new challenges and consolidating the rule of law and democracy in Europe."
Where can I find cases:
"The HUDOC database provides access to the case-law of the Court (Grand Chamber, Chamber and Committee judgments and decisions*, communicated cases, advisory opinions and legal summaries from the Case-Law Information Note), the European Commission of Human Rights (decisions and reports) and the Committee of Ministers (resolutions)."
The Questionnaire works by linking multiple human rights articles to various factual situations. By answering yes or no to specific factual questions, it becomes possible to identify which rights may or may not be relevant to you. It is important to note, that not all of the articles within the European Convention on Human Rights are relevant to a person. These articles are therefore not shown. For example, there are many articles that deal with the functioning of the European Court of Human Rights such as the multiple articles relating to 'Signature and ratification' of the convention. Please click the following link to see the European Convention on Human Rights If you would like to see how questions are mapped to the relevant rights, please contact [email protected]
The Text Search only applies to cases in the My-Rights database that all English judgments in HTML format from the HUDOC database.
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The following definitions are reproduced exactly from the European Court of Human Rights' website:
The information provided on this website is for general information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
We do not provide legal advice or services and nothing on this website should be construed as legal advice or the establishment of a lawyer-client relationship. If you require legal advice, you should consult a qualified legal professional in your jurisdiction. The use of this website or any information contained herein does not create a lawyer-client or any other relationship between the user and us.
Please email us at [email protected] if you have any issues with this website, would like to collobarate, or have suggestions for improvement.