Level 7 of 10: Regional blocs and supranational bodies

Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR)

The Council of Europe is a pan-European organisation of 46 member states, separate from the EU, set up in 1949 to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Its European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg rules on complaints that a state has breached the European Convention on Human Rights; the Convention says states must abide by final judgments, and the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers supervises how they are carried out. Individuals can apply to the Court directly.

Who leads it

• President of the European Court of Human Rights: Mattias Guyomar (echr.coe.int)

The UK and the CoE / ECtHR

The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members. The Court says the UK ratified the Convention in 1951; its judge in respect of the UK is Hugh Mercer (from 22 September 2025).

Key figures

What it decides

• The Court ensures that states keep their commitments under the Convention and sits permanently (European Convention on Human Rights, Article 19).
• The Court has one judge per state party (Article 20); judges serve a single nine-year term (Article 23).
• Any person, NGO or group claiming to be a victim of a Convention breach by a state party can apply to the Court (Article 34).
• States undertake to abide by final judgments in cases they are party to; the Committee of Ministers supervises execution (Article 46).
• The Court says its judgments are binding on the countries concerned and have led governments to change legislation and administrative practice.

Records you can check

• HUDOC case-law database
  Every judgment and decision of the European Court of Human Rights
• HUDOC-EXEC
  How states are carrying out Court judgments, as supervised by the Committee of Ministers
• ECHR statistics 2025
  Applications received, decided and pending, by year
• United Kingdom country profile
  UK cases, judgments and pending applications

Common questions

Is the European Court of Human Rights part of the EU?

No. It is the court of the Council of Europe, a separate pan-European organisation of 46 member states that includes all 27 EU countries, according to the UK Government.

How many countries are in the Council of Europe?

46 member states, according to the UK Government's delegation page.

Are European Court of Human Rights judgments binding on the UK?

Article 46 of the Convention says states undertake to abide by final judgments in cases they are party to, with the Committee of Ministers supervising execution.

How many UK cases go to the ECHR?

The Court reports dealing with 397 applications concerning the UK in 2025; 385 were declared inadmissible or struck out, and it delivered 10 judgments, 4 finding at least one violation.

When did the UK sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights?

The Court's UK profile says the UK ratified the Convention in 1951. The Convention came into force on 3 September 1953.

Other bodies at level 7

• African Union
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• European Central Bank
• European Court of Human Rights
• European Union (incl. Parliament, Commission, Council)
• Gulf Cooperation Council
• Mercosur
• Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Sources

• UK Delegation to the Council of Europe - GOV.UK, read 20 October 2026
• The Court in brief, read 20 October 2026
• European Convention on Human Rights (text), read 20 October 2026
• European Convention on Human Rights - ECHR, read 20 October 2026
• Analysis of statistics 2025, read 20 October 2026
• Country profile: United Kingdom, read 20 October 2026
• European Court of Human Rights home page, read 20 October 2026
• HUDOC, read 20 October 2026
• HUDOC-EXEC, read 20 October 2026