Summary

Founded in 1959, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is an international court that rules on alleged violations of citizenship and political rights provided for in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, based on an action filed by an individual or state. Since 1998, the ECtHR has been operating in Strasbourg on a permanent basis. Judgements of the ECtHR are binding on the states concerning which they have been rendered. Estonia acceded to the Convention on 16 April 1996; accordingly, 2016 sees Estonia marking the 20th anniversary of its accession to the Convention and of being under the jurisdiction of the ECtHR. This article surveys the overall statistics of court cases in Estonia, judgements of declarations of inadmissibility, substantive judgements and, in relation to the latter, also the execution of judgements.