Athens, 25 May 2009
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to welcome all of you to the Foreign Ministry for this event marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the European Court of Human Rights.
We are particularly pleased and honoured to have here with us Professor Christos Rozakis, Vice-President of the ECHR; Professor Nikos Alivizatos; and the former President of the Supreme Court, Mr. Stefanos Matthias.
Without question, these are three people who – each from the perspective of their area of specialization – can shed light on all of the facts of the functioning of this supranational judicial organ. And what is more, they can – through their experience and profound, specialized knowledge – point up the benefits that Europe and mankind have derived from the founding and operation of this court. What has been gained is nothing less than the court’s decisive role in protecting freedoms of the individual in European states, as well as the creation of a European framework of principles and values. Benefits that translate into freedom, democracy, justice and the potential for prosperity for all Europeans – a legacy that is constantly being enriched, revitalized and modernized to the benefit of future generations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Almost from the very outset of this 50-year journey, the ECHR set the bar very high. The fathers of this institution, as well as the people who have served it and are serving it – mainly judges – decided not to limit it to serving the mere letter of the European Convention on Human Rights. They decided to make the Court the guardian of the Convention – a guardian of the Convention’s spirit – keeping it vital, relevant and always in touch with the times and the changing challenges and needs it was called upon to meet. And that is what they did.
It is worth remembering that these lofty aspirations were by no means to be expected at that time; a time when Europe was trying to heal its wounds from a catastrophic war; a time when the states on our continent were looking for a new path to cooperation and growth, trying to set out on their journey to stability and prosperity. Under these conditions, small steps would seem a more reasonable approach than great leaps. But the fathers of the Convention and the Court chose to take a qualitative leap in the protection of individuals’ rights and freedoms in Europe. And they did just that.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If, rather than looking at each individual case that has been tried these 50 years, we look at the overall accomplishments of the Court – accomplishments that include some 10,000 decisions – we can discern its major achievements.
The first I will mention is the pan-European harmonization of the protection of human rights.
Interpreting and implementing the Convention, the Court succeeded in harmonizing national codes for the protection of human rights, drawing them into a unified set of values. Rights like the right to life, the right to best practices in the dispensing of justice, the right to respect for privacy and family life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion are now of pan-European content. They are the basis of what we now call European principles and values. They are the yardstick that all states must measure up to if they want to earn the right to call themselves European democracies. They are Europe’s soft power; the aura radiated by Europe to all those peoples of the world who look to it as a model of social and political organization.
What is of particular importance is that here, too, the mindset of exalted aspirations is conspicuous. This harmonization was not brought about – as is so often the case in Europe – through seeking the lowest common denominator amongst national regulations. In fact, the Court harmonized national codes by modernizing them and encouraging states that hadn’t made the grade to adapt to the new, higher level of protection of rights enacted by the Court.
Perhaps this is why the ECHR is so popular as an institution with European citizens. In these past 50 years, it has undoubtedly become a point of reference for every European, a vector of our collective European conscience regarding human rights. In other words, the Court is the genuine voice and guardian of European principles and values. The Court in Strasbourg is essentially a lifeline for all those citizens at the mercy of the deficiencies or mistakes of national legislation or court rulings. In turn, this gives rise to commitments raising the stakes for national legislators, judges or government officials: no national rule or practice can fall short of the level of protection that has been set by the Court.
Therefore, the Court does not merely issue rulings. It tutors European states and citizens in human rights. In this way, it continuously updates the Convention by rendering it a truly living text that expresses modern challenges to individual freedoms and their protection. Through the Court’s work, the Convention has become an “constitutional instrument of European public order in the field of human rights”, as was rightly argued. The range of issues that the ECHR is called upon to deal with is unprecedented for an international jurisdiction. Among the most prominent are of course rulings such as the one on the Loizidou case, which enables international justice to come to the rescue of people who are deprived of their human rights due to a foreign occupation.
This is why the Court – and more generally the Convention’s system of protection – has become so popular and influential with other regional/international organizations. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the American Convention on Human rights – to give just two examples – are clearly influenced by the Convention’s spirit and the Court’s operation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is no doubt that there are still outstanding issues regarding the European Court of Human Rights and that their resolution requires substantial steps forward. One such issue is ensuring speedier and more substantial execution of rulings by national states. Another is managing the large number of applications to the Court. At the beginning of this year, 100,000 applications were still pending before the Court’s Chambers.
I am certain that our distinguished speakers will mention all these issues relating to the Court’s progress. I am also very glad that Mr. Patronas presented the publication of this useful brochure on the European Convention on Human Rights and the ECHR’s activities. I would like to thank the writer and lecturer of the Dimokriteion University of Thrace, Mr. Yannis Ktistakis, the Foreign Ministry’s Centre for Analysis and Planning, as well as the Secretariat General for European Affairs, for this initiative.
This “golden” anniversary of the birth of the ECHR is a unique opportunity for us to examine these issues, speak openly about the challenges ahead and be courageously self-critical – as a country, too – and it is also a unique opportunity for us to mention the great successes of these fifty years and promote the ECHR’s special role: its leading role in protecting, spreading, and continuously renewing the pan-European values of freedom, human dignity, equality, social sensitivity, democracy and the rule of law.
Thank you.