CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 10 juillet 2009

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic }   562 10.07.2009 Press release issued by the Registrar   New procedures produce first decisions 146 Single Judge decisions adopted   Following the decisions taken at the Madrid Ministerial session in May ( see Press Release No.391a09 ), the Court is able to make use of certain procedures provided for in Protocol   No.   14 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which has been ratified by 46 out of the 47 member States of the Council of Europe but cannot enter into force fully until the last State ratifies.   Under these procedures, which are intended to help the Court cope with its heavy caseload, the number of Judges dealing with certain categories of straightforward cases is modified. A single Judge is empowered to reject clearly inadmissible applications as opposed to a three Judge Committee under the present Convention. Furthermore, a three Judge Committee will be entitled to declare admissible and give judgment in cases which are plainly well-founded because the particular issue in the country concerned has already been dealt with by the Court. Before, only Chambers (seven Judges) or the Grand Chamber (seventeen judges) could declare cases admissible and render judgments.   These procedures will only be available in respect of countries which have accepted them either by ratifying Protocol No.   14   bis (adopted in Madrid) or by entering a declaration agreeing to the provisional application of Protocol No.   14.   This week the first decisions have been taken under the single Judge procedure.   On 7 July, decisions were taken concerning: 41 applications against the United Kingdom; 76   applications against Germany; 17   applications against the Netherlands; and, 1 against Denmark. On 10 July decisions were taken concerning: 8 applications against Switzerland; and, 3 applications against Norway.   The President of Court, Jean-Paul Costa, welcomed the first and long-awaited results of Protocol No.   14 (which was opened for signature in 2004), while stressing the importance of securing the full entry into force of the Protocol. “This provides the Court with a necessary boost”, he said, “and we will do our utmost to ensure that these procedures have a real impact on the Court’s caseload”.   The other countries which have accepted the new procedures are Luxembourg with immediate effect and Ireland, from 1   October 2009, Monaco and Slovenia, from 1   November   2009.     ***   Further information about the Court can be found on its Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   Press contacts Stefano Piedimonte (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 04) Tracey Turner-Tretz (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 88 41 35 30) Kristina Pencheva-Malinowski (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 88 41 35 70) Céline Menu-Lange (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 90 21 58 77) Frédéric Dolt (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 90 21 53 39)   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.