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COUNCIL OF EUROPE
COMMITTEE OF
MINISTERS
Recommendation No. R (2000) 2
of the Committee of Ministers to member states
on the re-examination or reopening of certain cases
at domestic level
following judgments of the European Court of Human
Rights footnote 1
(Adopted by the Committee of
Ministers
on 19 January 2000
at the 694th meeting of the Ministers'
Deputies)
The Committee of Ministers, under
the terms of Article 15.b of the Statute of
the Council of Europe,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is
to bring about a closer union between its members;
Having regard to the Convention for the protection
of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter
"the Convention");
Noting that under Article 46 of
the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms ("the Convention") the Contracting Parties
have accepted the obligation to abide by the final
judgment of the European Court of Human Rights ("the
Court") in any case to which they are parties and
that the Committee of Ministers shall supervise its
execution;
Bearing in mind that in certain
circumstances the above-mentioned obligation may
entail the adoption of measures, other than just
satisfaction awarded by the Court in accordance with
Article 41 of the Convention and/or general measures,
which ensure that the injured party is put, as far
as possible, in the same situation as he or she
enjoyed prior to the violation of the Convention (restitutio
in integrum);
Noting that it is for the
competent authorities of the respondent State to
decide what measures are most appropriate to achieve
restitutio in integrum, taking into account
the means available under the national legal system;
Bearing in mind, however, that
the practice of the Committee of Ministers in
supervising the execution of the Court's judgments
shows that in exceptional circumstances the
re-examination of a case or a reopening of
proceedings has proved the most efficient, if not
the only, means of achieving restitutio in
integrum;
I. Invites, in the light of
these considerations the Contracting Parties to
ensure that there exist at national level adequate
possibilities to achieve, as far as possible,
restitutio in integrum;
II. Encourages the Contracting
Parties, in particular, to examine their national
legal systems with a view to ensuring that there
exist adequate possibilities of re-examination of
the case, including reopening of proceedings, in
instances where the Court has found a violation of
the Convention, especially where:
(i) the injured party continues
to suffer very serious negative consequences because
of the outcome of the domestic decision at issue,
which are not adequately remedied by the just
satisfaction and cannot be rectified except by
re-examination or reopening, and
(ii) the judgment of the Court
leads to the conclusion that
(a) the impugned domestic
decision is on the merits contrary to the
Convention, or
(b) the violation found is
based on procedural errors or shortcomings of
such gravity that a serious doubt is cast on the
outcome of the domestic proceedings complained
of.
1.
Considering that the quasi-judicial functions of the
Committee of Ministers under the former Article 32
of the Convention will cease in the near future, no
mention of the Committee of Ministers’ decisions is
made. It is understood, however, that should certain
cases still be under examination when the
recommendation is adopted, the principles of this
recommendation will also apply to such cases. |
