CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 28 janvier 2010

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sA678F94A { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s598389F8 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:11pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s2E932ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:11pt } .s23A41E03 { width:36pt; display:inline-block } .s99A63BFE { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left; font-size:11pt } .s856DF1B6 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10.5pt } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s21338552 { font-family:Arial; font-size:10.5pt } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s92A5AB2 { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } .s4BAE41EE { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt } .s819439CA { font-family:Arial; font-size:10.5pt; color:#0000ff } .sF8ED3D46 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:10.5pt } .s34B51DD { font-family:Arial; font-size:10.5pt; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .s9FE28126 { margin-top:0pt; margin-right:42.5pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left; font-size:11pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } 075 28.01.2010   Press release issued by the Registrar   Press Conference       President Costa expresses optimism about prospects for reform     Speaking at a press conference in Strasbourg, Jean-Paul Costa, President of the European Court of Human Rights, with Erik Fribergh, the Court’s Registrar, told journalists today that he saw three main reasons for optimism.   Firstly, the Lisbon Treaty which had entered into force in December last year opened the path for the European Union to join the European Convention on Human Rights. This would be a major step towards creating a European fundamental rights space, said President Costa.   Secondly, earlier in the month, the State Duma of the Russian Federation had voted in favour of the ratification of Protocol 14 to the Convention. Yesterday, the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament, the Federation Council, unanimously followed the State Duma. This cleared the way for the Protocol, already ratified by the other 46 States Parties, to enter into force, allowing the Court to streamline its procedures.   Thirdly, a landmark intergovernmental conference on the Court’s future would take place in February 2010 in Interlaken. Its aim is to reaffirm the States’ commitment to the protection of human rights in Europe and to draw up a roadmap for the future development of the Court. According to President Costa, the Interlaken conference represented a major challenge for the member States and an opportunity for the Court. In the short term the human rights mechanism had to be reinforced; in the long term it had to be modified to ensure the effectiveness of the Court. Indeed, the Court needed decisions from the States on the statutory and structural reform which ought to be undertaken.   These positive developments were nevertheless to be seen in the context of the Courts growing case load which made the reform even more necessary.   Looking at the statistics , President Costa pointed out that at the end of 2009 a total of 119,300 applications were pending. Over 57,000 new applications were allocated to a judicial formation in 2009 which was a 15% increase compared to the previous year. Over the same period, 35,460 applications were decided - 2,395 by judgment and 33,065 by an inadmissibility or strike-out decision; that represented an increase of 27% and 10% respectively in relation to 2008. As in 2008, 4 States (Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Romania) were the source of almost 56% of the pending applications: in particular 28.1% of the cases were directed against Russia, 11% Turkey, 8.4% Ukraine and 8.2% Romania.   ***   Further information about the Court can be found on the Court’s Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ) or through the Court’s press team.     Press contacts Stefano Piedimonte (tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 42 04) Tracey Turner-Tretz (tel: + 33 (0)3 88 41 35 30) Kristina Pencheva-Malinowski (tel: + 33 (0)3 88 41 35 70) Céline Menu-Lange (tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 58 77) Frédéric Dolt (tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 53 39) Nina Salomon (tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 49 79)   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.