The Convention System

The European Court of Human Rights is the most famous and perhaps the most successful institution of the Council of Europe. Within the Council of Europe there is an informal opinion that the Court is a victim of its own success. The Court has been continuously facing an increasing influx of applications by European citizens pointing to human rights violations. This phenomenon has necessitated the implementation of effective reforms both in the European Convention on Human Rights and in the modalities of functioning of the Court. The paper analyzes the effects of reforms that have been implemented over the years with a focus on the efficiency of the functioning of the Court as well as the overall Convention System related to the protection of human rights. To that end a special review is made of the content of the declarations arising from high level conferences. The paper uses the additional protocols to the European Convention on Human Rights in particular their content the process of adoption and entry into force as well as the effects they have on increasing the efficiency of the functioning of the European Court of Human Rights and overall Convention System.