COUNCIL OF EUROPE
COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
Resolution Res(2004)3 of the Committee of Ministers
on judgments revealing an underlying systemic problem
(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 12 May
2004,
at its 114th Session)
The Committee of Ministers, in accordance with Article
15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is
the achievement of greater unity among its members, and that one of the most
important methods by which that aim is to be pursued is the maintenance and
further realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Reiterating its conviction that the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to
as “the Convention”) must remain the essential reference point for the
protection of human rights in Europe, and recalling its commitment to take
measures in order to guarantee the long-term effectiveness of the control
system instituted by the Convention;
Recalling the subsidiary character of the supervision
mechanism set up by the Convention, which implies, in accordance with its
Article 1, that the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention be
protected in the first place at national level and applied by national
authorities;
Welcoming in this context that the Convention has now
become an integral part of the domestic legal order of all states parties;
Recalling that, according to Article 46 of the
Convention, the high contracting parties undertake to abide by the final
judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as
“the Court”) in any case to which they are parties and that the final
judgment of the Court shall be transmitted to the Committee of Ministers,
which shall supervise its execution;
Emphasising the interest in helping the state
concerned to identify the underlying problems and the necessary execution
measures;
Considering that the execution of judgments would be
facilitated if the existence of a systemic problem is already identified in
the judgment of the Court;
Bearing in mind the Court's own submission on this
matter to the Committee of Ministers session on 7 November 2002;
Invites the Court:
I. as far as possible, to identify, in its judgments
finding a violation of the Convention, what it considers to be an underlying
systemic problem and the source of this problem, in particular when it is
likely to give rise to numerous applications, so as to assist states in
finding the appropriate solution and the Committee of Ministers in
supervising the execution of judgments;
II. to specially notify any judgment containing
indications of the existence of a systemic problem and of the source of this
problem not only to the state concerned and to the Committee of Ministers,
but also to the Parliamentary Assembly, to the Secretary General of the
Council of Europe and to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights, and to highlight such judgments in an appropriate manner in the
database of the Court.
