The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) was established under the European Convention to ensure compliance to the protection of human rights and the fundamentals of freedom. Its headquarters is in Strasbourg.
The Court has both an advisory and a contentious role.
In relation to the contentious role, the Court acknowledges applications made by individuals as well as those made by the Contracting States regarding the violation of one of the dispositions of the Convention or of its additional protocols.
Applications to the Court are eligible only when there are no further possibilitis for applying according to domestic legislation.
The decisions of the Court are binding on State Members and must be complied with. State Members are obliged to adapt their national legislation to the decisions of the Court, and the decisions are self-executing (Case "Dorigo").
The law firm Olivieri Ciapetti & Partners offers assistance and consultancy in matters concerning applications to the Court regarding violations of the Convention.