European Court of Human Rights: 36 thousand cases in a year. Highest number of pending suits in Russia and Turkey

 

In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights had to rule over 36 thousand suits, which is 8% less than the previous year. However, the number of rulings has risen to 428 (in 1,037 suits), that is, 9% more than in 2020. At the end of 2020, pending suits were 62 thousand. Such figure rose to 70,150 at the end of 2021, which is 13% more. These are some of the figures that earlier today the president of the European Court of Strasbourg, Peter Spano, reported and explained at the usual press conference held at the start of the year. 70% of all pending suits concern the same 4 countries as last year: the Russian Federation, with 17 thousand suits, 24% more than the year before (and 25% of the total number of cases concern breaches of the freedom to protest and hold meetings); Turkey, with 15,250 cases, 30% more than in 2020 (largely concerning the rulings issued in the trials for the attempted coup of 2016); Ukraine, with 11,350 suits, and Romania, with 5,700 cases. The president explained that the Court has implemented a new “strategy to deal with the cases” that is expected to speed them up: cases are sorted out by priority, based on the seriousness, importance and urgency of the matter, as well as in terms of “impact” (because the matter is completely new, because the legal repercussions are important, because they are morally relevant): as of January 1st 2022, in the Strasbourg offices there were 500 cases falling in that category, about such matters as freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, spying on journalists, issues regarding the pandemic, discrimination, environmental cases.
Valentina Bombelli