Bratza
Strasbourg, 26 January 2012 - European governments must assume their part of the shared responsibility for the protection of human rights across the continent, the European Court of Human Rights’ President told journalists this afternoon. Speaking at the Court’s annual press conference, the Court’s President Sir Nicolas Bratza said: "Human rights, the rule of law and justice seem to be slipping down the political agenda in the current economic climate. It is in times like these that we must remember that human rights are not a luxury and that the burden of their protection must be a shared one. We must continue to ensure that the Court remains strong, independent and courageous in its defence of the European Convention on Human Rights."
President Bratza further explained that the governments’ responsibilities included ensuring the proper functioning of the Court. The 30,000 repetitive cases pending before the Court indicated a failure to remedy structural problems in the countries concerned and a
collective failure of the implementation process, for which all 47 countries were responsible. The Court did not only require financial support. It was also important that its independence and authority should not be undermined and that criticism by governments, even where legitimate, should rely on reasoned argument rather than emotion and exaggeration. (more...)