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The Project “Enhancing subsidiarity: support to the ECHR knowledge-sharing and superior courts dialogue” is a collaboration between the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law.

 

The Project aims to strengthen the principle of subsidiarity, which has ever been at the core of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) system and has been inserted into the Preamble of the Convention by Protocol No 15. This principle imposes a shared responsibility between the States Parties, the Court and the Committee of Ministers (which supervises the execution of judgments from the Court), but the primary responsibility to ensure the application and effective implementation of the Convention lies with the States Parties and national authorities and in particular courts, which are the first guardians of human rights, ensuring the full application of the Convention as interpreted by the Court.

 

The Project is funded by voluntary contributions from France, Ireland and Human Rights Trust Fund

 

Superior Courts' Network - ECHR 

Main objective

The overall objective of the Project is to help bringing subsidiarity into practice across Europe by creating sustainable solutions facilitating the application by national courts of the Convention, as interpreted by the Court.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND RESULTS
  • Expanding the reach of the ECHR’s Knowledge-Sharing platform (ECHR-KS) to users all over Europe.
  • Strengthening the pan-European judicial dialogue on human rights, through the Superior Courts Network (SCN).
  • Strengthening the use of ECHR-KS by national courts and their ability to identify Convention-related issues and address them in a coherent manner at home.
key activities
  • Promotion of the ECHR-KS among relevant actors, through awareness-raising, HELP courses and training for legal professionals.
  • Development of non-official language versions of the ECHR-KS.
  • Development of a range of methodological and technical support (up to specific IT solutions) strengthening the ability of national courts to identify Convention-related issues early and effectively address them in a coherent manner at home.
  • Support multilateral (face-to-face and virtual) webinars and annual Forum on Convention issues for SCN members.
partners and beneficiaries

National jurisdictions, Superior Courts Network (SCN), Legal professionals, the wider public.

Project information

  • Duration: 48 months (1 July 2022 - 30 June 2026)
  • Countries (multilateral): Member States of CoE
  • Funding: France, Ireland and Human Rights Trust Fund (HRTF)

Project documentation

 

project news

Back Putting the ECHR Knowledge-Sharing Platform to Work: Human Rights and Business in Ukrainian Legal Practice

Putting the ECHR Knowledge-Sharing Platform to Work: Human Rights and Business in Ukrainian Legal Practice 

9 July 2026 

The ECHR Knowledge-Sharing (ECHR-KS) platform is more than a digital library, it is a practical, tool for legal professionals navigating some of today's most pressing human rights challenges. One such challenge is the intersection of business activity and human rights, a topic of growing importance for courts, lawyers, and policymakers, and a critical priority for Ukraine as it advances its recovery and reconstruction. 

On 9 July 2026, over 80 Ukrainian judges, lawyers, academics, and human rights practitioners came together at an online webinar co-organised by the Council of Europe, UNDP, and the Supreme Court of Ukraine, to explore precisely this intersection. 

For Ukraine’s reconstruction it is essential to ensure that responsible investment and human rights protection go hand in hand. The ECHR-KS platform supports this by equipping Ukrainian legal professionals with the knowledge and tools to identify, analyse, and apply the relevant ECtHR standards in cases involving business activities, corporate responsibility, and human rights impact. 

The event demonstrated how the ECHR-KS platform can be used in practice as a resource to research and apply ECtHR case law on business and human rights, identify relevant standards, and integrate them into legal reasoning and judicial decisions. The platform, available in Ukrainian, makes ECtHR case law directly accessible to national practitioners in their own language. Combined with the HELP course on Business and Human Rights which was also launched in Ukrainian and already being used at national level, the ECHR-KS is proving its value as a practical tool that connects international standards to national legal realities. 

The promotion of the ECHR-KS platform is part of the project "Enhancing Subsidiarity: Support to the ECHR Knowledge-Sharing and Superior Courts Dialogue", jointly implemented by the Council of Europe and the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights.

 

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