issued by the Registrar of the Court

ECHR 244 (2013)

02.09.2013

The Court celebrates the 60th anniversary of entry into force of the
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights, which was signed in Rome on 4 November
1950, entered into force on 3 September 1953. Under Article 66 of the Convention, the
Conventions entry into force was triggered by the deposit in Strasbourg of the tenth
instrument of ratification, which was deposited by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
President Dean Spielmann expressed satisfaction at the anniversary, saying: Those who
deposited the instrument of ratification believed that the Convention would form the
bedrock of democratic Europe, an enterprise for peace and freedom. They considered it a
great honour for Luxembourg to make possible the entry into force of what they described
as the finest European undertaking to date. Sixty years on, we strive every day to continue
on the course they charted for us.
Since 1953, over 500,000 applications have been dealt with by the machinery set up under
the European Convention on Human Rights and the Court has delivered approximately
16,500 judgments.

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The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in
1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.