http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf
ARTICLE 1
Obligation to respect human rights
The High Contracting Parties shall secure to everyone within their
jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in Section I of this
Convention.
SECTION I
RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
ARTICLE 2
Right to life
1. Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one
shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of
a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which
this penalty is provided by law.
2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in
contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force
which is no more than absolutely necessary:
(a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape
of a person lawfully detained;
(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot
or insurrection.
ARTICLE 3
Prohibition of torture
No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
ARTICLE 4
Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
1. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
2. No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory
labour.
3. For the purpose of this Article the term “forced or compulsory
labour” shall not include:
(a) any work required to be done in the ordinary course of
detention imposed according to the provisions of Article 5
of this Convention or during conditional release from
such detention;
(b) any service of a military character or, in case of
conscientious objectors in countries where they are
recognised, service exacted instead of compulsory
military service;
(c) any service exacted in case of an emergency or calamity
threatening the life or well-being of the com-munity;
(d) any work or service which forms part of normal civic
obligations.
ARTICLE 5
Right to liberty and security
1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No
one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and
in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:
(a) the lawful detention of a person after conviction by a
competent court;
(b) the lawful arrest or detention of a person for non--
compliance with the lawful order of a court or in order to
secure the fulfilment of any obligation prescribed by law;
(c) the lawful arrest or detention of a person effected for
the purpose of bringing him before the competent legal
authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed
an offence or when it is reasonably considered necessary
to prevent his committing an offence or fleeing after
having done so;
(d) the detention of a minor by lawful order for the purpose
of educational supervision or his lawful detention for
the purpose of bringing him before the competent legal
authority;
(e) the lawful detention of persons for the prevention of the
spreading of infectious diseases, of persons of unsound
mind, alcoholics or drug addicts or vagrants;
(f) the lawful arrest or detention of a person to prevent his
effecting an unauthorised entry into the country or of a
person against whom action is being taken with a view
to deportation or extradition.
2. Everyone who is arrested shall be informed promptly, in a
language which he understands, of the reasons for his arrest and
of any charge against him.
3. Everyone arrested or detained in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph 1 (c) of this Article shall be brought
promptly before a judge or other officer authorised by law to
exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a
reasonable time or to release pending trial. Release may be
conditioned by guarantees to appear for trial.
4. Everyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention
shall be entitled to take proceedings by which the lawfulness of
his detention shall be decided speedily by a court and his release
ordered if the detention is not lawful.
5. Everyone who has been the victim of arrest or detention
in contravention of the provisions of this Article shall have an
enforceable right to compensation.
ARTICLE 6
Right to a fair trial
1. In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of
any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair
and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent
and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be
pronounced publicly but the press and public may be excluded
from all or part of the trial in the interests of morals, public order
or national security in a democratic society, where the interests
of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so
require, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the
court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the
interests of justice.
2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed
innocent until proved guilty according to law.
3. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following
minimum rights:
(a) to be informed promptly, in a language which he
understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the
accusation against him;
(b) to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of
his defence;
(c) to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of
his own choosing or, if he has not sufficient means to pay
for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests
of justice so require;
(d) to examine or have examined witnesses against him and
to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on
his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against
him;
(e) to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot
understand or speak the language used in court.
2. No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights
other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in
a democratic society in the interests of national security or public
safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection
of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms
of others. This Article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful
restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the
armed forces, of the police or of the administration of the State.
ARTICLE 12
Right to marry
Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and
to found a family, according to the national laws governing the
exercise of this right.
ARTICLE 13
Right to an effective remedy
Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention
are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national
authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed
by persons acting in an official capacity.
ARTICLE 14
Prohibition of discrimination
The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground
such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, association with a national
minority, property, birth or other status.
ARTICLE 15
Derogation in time of emergency
1. In time of war or other public emergency threatening the
life of the nation any High Contracting Party may take measures
derogating from its obligations under this Convention to the extent
strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that
such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under
international law.
2. No derogation from Article 2, except in respect of
deaths resulting from lawful acts of war, or from Articles 3, 4
(paragraph 1) and 7 shall be made under this provision.
3. Any High Contracting Party availing itself of this right of
derogation shall keep the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe fully informed of the measures which it has taken and
the reasons therefor. It shall also inform the Secretary General
of the Council of Europe when such measures have ceased to
operate and the provisions of the Convention are again being
fully executed.
ARTICLE 16
Restrictions on political activity of aliens
Nothing in Articles 10, 11 and 14 shall be regarded as preventing
the High Contracting Parties from imposing restrictions on the
political activity of aliens.
ARTICLE 17
Prohibition of abuse of rights
Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as implying for
any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or
perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and 14 15
freedoms set forth herein or at their limitation to a greater extent
than is provided for in the Convention.
ARTICLE 18
Limitation on use of restrictions on rights
The restrictions permitted under this Convention to the said rights
and freedoms shall not be applied for any purpose other than
those for which they have been prescribed.
SECTION II
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
ARTICLE 19
Establishment of the Court
To ensure the observance of the engagements undertaken by
the High Contracting Parties in the Convention and the Protocols
thereto, there shall be set up a European Court of Human Rights,
hereinafter referred to as “the Court”. It shall function on a
permanent basis.
ARTICLE 20
Number of judges
The Court shall consist of a number of judges equal to that of the
High Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 21
Criteria for office
1. The judges shall be of high moral character and must either
possess the qualifications required for appointment to high judicial
office or be jurisconsults of recognised competence.
2. The judges shall sit on the Court in their individual capacity.
3. During their term of office the judges shall not engage in
any activity which is incompatible with their independence,
impartiality or with the demands of a full-time office; all questions
arising from the application of this paragraph shall be decided by
the Court.
ARTICLE 22
Election of judges
The judges shall be elected by the Parliamentary Assembly with
respect to each High Contracting Party by a majority of votes cast
from a list of three candidates nominated by the High Contracting
Party.
ARTICLE 23
Terms of office and dismissal
1. The judges shall be elected for a period of nine years. They
may not be re-elected.
2. The terms of office of judges shall expire when they reach the
age of 70.
3. The judges shall hold office until replaced. They shall,
however, continue to deal with such cases as they already have
under consi-deration.16 17
4. No judge may be dismissed from office unless the other
judges decide by a majority of two-thirds that that judge has
ceased to fulfil the required conditions.
ARTICLE 24
Registry and rapporteurs
1. The Court shall have a Registry, the functions and organisation
of which shall be laid down in the rules of the Court.
2. When sitting in a single-judge formation, the Court shall be
assisted by rapporteurs who shall function under the authority
of the President of the Court. They shall form part of the Court’s
Registry.
ARTICLE 25
Plenary Court
The plenary Court shall
(a) elect its President and one or two Vice-Presidents for a
period of three years; they may be re-elected;
(b) set up Chambers, constituted for a fixed period of time;
(c) elect the Presidents of the Chambers of the Court; they
may be re-elected;
(d) adopt the rules of the Court;
(e) elect the Registrar and one or more Deputy Registrars;
(f) make any request under Article 26, paragraph 2.
ARTICLE 26
Single-judge formation, Committees, Chambers
and Grand Chamber
1. To consider cases brought before it, the Court shall sit in
a single-judge formation, in committees of three judges, in
Chambers of seven judges and in a Grand Chamber of seventeen
judges. The Court’s Chambers shall set up committees for a fixed
period of time.
2. At the request of the plenary Court, the Committee of Ministers
may, by a unanimous decision and for a fixed period, reduce to
five the number of judges of the Chambers.
3. When sitting as a single judge, a judge shall not examine
any application against the High Contracting Party in respect of
which that judge has been elected.
4. There shall sit as an ex-officio member of the Chamber and
the Grand Chamber the judge elected in respect of the High
Contracting Party concerned. If there is none or if that judge is
unable to sit, a person chosen by the President of the Court from
a list submitted in advance by that Party shall sit in the capacity of
judge.
5. The Grand Chamber shall also include the President of the
Court, the Vice-Presidents, the Presidents of the Chambers and
other judges chosen in accordance with the rules of the Court.
When a case is referred to the Grand Chamber under Article 43,
no judge from the Chamber which rendered the judgment shall
sit in the Grand Chamber, with the exception of the President
of the Chamber and the judge who sat in respect of the High
Contracting Party concerned.
ARTICLE 27
Competence of single judges
1. A single judge may declare inadmissible or strike out of the
Court’s list of cases an application submitted under Article 34,
where such a decision can be taken without further examination.
2. The decision shall be final.
3. If the single judge does not declare an application inadmissible
or strike it out, that judge shall forward it to a committee or to a
Chamber for further examination.
ARTICLE 28
Competence of Committees
1. In respect of an application submitted under Article 34, a
committee may, by a unanimous vote,
(a) declare it inadmissible or strike it out of its list of cases,
where such decision can be taken without further
examination; or
(b) declare it admissible and render at the same time a
judgment on the merits, if the underlying question in the
case, concerning the interpretation or the application of
the Convention or the Protocols thereto, is already the
subject of well-established case-law of the Court.
2. Decisions and judgments under paragraph 1 shall be final.
3. If the judge elected in respect of the High Contracting Party
concerned is not a member of the committee, the committee may
at any stage of the proceedings invite that judge to take the place
of one of the members of the committee, having regard to all
relevant factors, including whether that Party has contested the
application of the procedure under paragraph 1.b.
ARTICLE 29
Decisions by Chambers on admissibility and merits
1. If no decision is taken under Article 27 or 28, or no judgment
rendered under Article 28, a Chamber shall decide on the
admissibility and merits of individual applications submitted under
Article 34. The decision on admissibility may be taken separately.
2. A Chamber shall decide on the admissibility and merits of
inter-State applications submitted under Article 33. The decision
on admissibility shall be taken separately unless the Court, in
exceptional cases, decides otherwise.
ARTICLE 30
Relinquishment of jurisdiction to the Grand Chamber
Where a case pending before a Chamber raises a serious
question affecting the interpretation of the Convention or the
Protocols thereto, or where the resolution of a question before
the Chamber might have a result inconsistent with a judgment
previously delivered by the Court, the Chamber may, at any
time before it has rendered its judgment, relinquish jurisdiction
in favour of the Grand Chamber, unless one of the parties to the
case objects.
ARTICLE 31
Powers of the Grand Chamber
The Grand Chamber shall
(a) determine applications submitted either under Article
33 or Article 34 when a Chamber has relinquished
jurisdiction under Article 30 or when the case has been
referred to it under Article 43;
(b) decide on issues referred to the Court by the Committee
of Ministers in accordance with Article 46, paragraph 4;
and
(c) consider requests for advisory
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