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ECtHR measures cut backlog last year

The President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has said that changes aimed at making the court more effective have “borne fruit”.

The court’s annual report shows that the number of pending applications before the court at the end of 2023 was 60,350.

President Marko Bošnjak, who replaced Ireland’s Síofra O’Leary last year, said that, while this figure was still high, it represented a fall of more than 8,000 (12%) from the previous year.

During the year, the court ruled on more than 36,800 applications.

While this figure was down 4%, the number of applications (10,829) decided by judgments, rather than being struck out or ruled inadmissible, rose by 56%.

'Impact' cases

Three-quarters of pending applications come from five countries: Türkiye, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Romania, and Greece.

The ECtHR has implemented an ‘impact’ strategy in recent years to deal with more important and complex cases.

The president said that, as a result, by the end of 2024, the number of impact cases pending before the court fell to 181, compared with 429 in January 2023.

Ethics council

In December last year, the court decided to set up an ethics council, which the president will be able to consult whenever he or she considers it necessary to give guidance to a judge seeking advice on compliance with the ethical standards in each situation. 

The president can also consult the body for guidance on ethical standards for the court as an institution.

Last year, Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh was elected as Ireland’s judge of the ECtHR.