European Convention on Human Rights

The European Convention on Human Rights, formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, is an international treaty adopted by the member states of the Council of Europe to protect human rights and political freedoms across the continent. It was signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 and entered into force on 3 September 1953, drawing on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and conceived partly as a response to the atrocities of the Second World War and partly as a bulwark against Soviet expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. All 46 Council of Europe member states are now parties. Its distinguishing feature is the European Court of Human Rights, seated in Strasbourg since 1959, which allows individuals as well as states to bring complaints against a member state and issues judgments that are legally binding, including orders of compensation; the Convention is treated as a living instrument whose interpretation evolves with contemporary conditions rather than being fixed to its original 1950 text.