The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1959. It rules on individual or state applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention).
 

In almost 60 years, the Court has delivered more than 20 000 judgments. These are binding on the countries concerned. The Court’s case law makes the Convention a powerful, living instrument for meeting new challenges and consolidating the rule of law and democracy in Europe.

The European Court of Human Rights has published a factsheet on hate speech compiling the court's understanding of hate speech and its rulings on the issue in relation to the human rights articles of the Convention. Other factsheets cover a range of topics related to human rights and discrimination and can be found online in English and several other languages.