European Convention on Human Rights

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, commonly the European Convention on Human Rights or ECHR, is a supranational treaty designed to protect human rights and political freedoms throughout Europe, opened for signature on 4 November 1950 by the member states of the newly formed Council of Europe and in force from 3 September 1953. It was directly inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and its main distinguishing feature is the European Court of Human Rights, sitting in Strasbourg since 1959, whose judgments are legally binding on states parties and which any person who believes their Convention rights have been violated may petition. Since its adoption the Convention has been amended by seventeen additional protocols adding rights such as the right to property, freedom of movement, and the abolition of the death penalty, with the most recent, Protocol No. 15, entering into force in 2021. It is widely considered the most effective international treaty for the protection of human rights, with significant influence on the domestic law of all Council of Europe member states.