The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which entered into force on September 3, 1953, not only proclaimed fundamental human rights, but also created a special mechanism of their protection.

   Originally that mechanism included three bodies, which bore the responsibility for the ensuring of the observance of the engagements undertaken by the Member Sates: the European Commission on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

European Court of Human Rights
Council of Europe
F - 67075 Strasbourg-Cedex
Tel: 33 (0)3 88 41 20 18
Fax: 33 (0)3 88 41 27 30
Internet: www.echr.coe.int

Expenditures of the respondent government
   It is notable that the Convention does not assume any possibility of paying the costs of the respondent government by the applicant in any case. Therefore, even if the applicant renounces his (her) complaint or reaches an agreement before passing judgment, or, in the end, meets with failure after hearing in the Court, he (she) needs not pay the costs of the government. It can be an important factor in solving a matter of applying to the European Court. In case of domestic trial many litigants face the threatening perspective of full or partial paying the opponent's expenses in case of defeat. In Strasbourg such a risk is absent. It is a very important element, thanks to which the system of the Convention is comparative accessible even for the poorest of the applicants.