to inform public officials about the State's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights

This toolkit aims to provide officials of the States Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter "the Convention") with information and practical guidance to equip them to respect the Convention rights of the people they deal with, fulfil the State's Convention obligations and so, as far as possible, avoid breaches of the Convention.

Who this toolkit is for?

The toolkit is primarily for officials working in the justice system and for those responsible for law enforcement or for the deprivation of a person's liberty. Specifically, that will nclude (but not be limited to) police, prison officers, immigration officers and workers in secure psychiatric institutions or other institutions providing care to vulnerable persons.

More widely, the toolkit is also for any official who interacts with the public in ways which raise potential issues of Convention rights, for instance social workers, registrars and licensing authority officials.

It is not designed for judges, lawyers or senior civil servants, but for those "at the sharp end". It assumes no prior legal knowledge.

The toolkit contains, in particular:

  • A guide to the rights conferred by the Convention and its Protocols and to the corresponding obligations of the State, following the order in which the provisions appear. Those provisions which most often arise in the work of the officials for whom this toolkit has been written are covered in much greater detail than those which rarely arise. The toolkit does not aim to cover all potential issues, as a legal textbook would; it concentrates selectively on the most significant and frequently encountered ones.
  • Questions and checklists highlighting points to consider, to help officials decide whether a potential issue under the Convention arises.

The Convention and how it works

The Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (to give the Convention its official title) is an international treaty between the States (currently 47) members of the Council of Europe (not to be confused with the European Union). The Council of Europe was set up after the Second World War as an international organisation for the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The Convention was adopted in 1950. States become bound to abide by the obligations of the Convention when they become party to it by ratification. All the member States have ratified the Convention.

There are a number of optional Protocols to the Convention, which supplement its provisions by adding to the substantive rights guaranteed by the Convention. Member States may choose whether to accept the optional Protocols by ratifying them, and not all States have accepted all the optional Protocols. You should check which of the optional Protocols have been ratified by your State on the Council of Europe Treaty Office website.

Please note: We invite you to send us any suggestions that may improve the content or the presentation of this website. Please feel free to fill in this information on the contact form provided for this purpose.

Zurück Protocol No. 7 to the Convention

Procedural safeguards relating to expulsion of aliens (Article 1)

This guarantees that an individual non-national lawfully resident in the territory of a State shall not be expelled except by a lawful decision and subject to a right:

  • to submit reasons against his or her expulsion;
  • to have his or her case reviewed;
  • to be represented for this purpose before the competent authority.

"Expulsion" means the same as in Protocol No. 4 Article 3, i.e. it does not cover extradition. It does not prohibit expulsion of individuals, but only gives certain procedural safeguards. Aliens facing deportation may also have rights under the Convention, for example, Articles 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 and Protocol No. 4 Article 4.

However, in exceptional cases where the expulsion is necessary in the interests of public order or is grounded on reasons of national security, an individual may be expelled before the exercise of his procedural rights guaranteed by Article 1 of this Protocol.

Right of appeal in criminal matters (Article 2)

This guarantees that everyone convicted of a criminal offence by a tribunal shall have the right to have his or her conviction or sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal.

States have a lot of discretion on how this provision is implemented so long as they do not destroy the essence of the right. Thus, they do not have to allow an appeal on the merits of the judgment, may restrict the right to points of law only and may require that leave to appeal be sought first.

Compensation for wrongful conviction (Article 3)

This only gives a right of compensation where a conviction has been overturned or a pardon granted because new or newly discovered facts show conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice.

Right not to be tried or punished twice (Article 4)

This prohibits trying or punishing someone again for an offence of which he or she has already been acquitted or convicted. There are exceptions under paragraph 2 if new or newly discovered facts arise or there was a fundamental defect in the earlier proceedings. Complicated situations can arise where one set of facts gives rise to more than one offence or more than one procedure, for example, where someone was convicted of drink-driving and in later proceedings had his licence taken away; the latter procedure was viewed as part of the sanction for the offence (Nilsson v. Sweden). Only if two separate offences rest on identical facts or facts that are substantially the same will there be a breach.

Equality between spouses (Article 5)

This gives spouses equal rights under private law between them and in their relations with their children during a marriage and in the event of its dissolution. It does not prevent the State from taking measures to protect children (which may raise issues under Article 8).

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