Enforcing Rights Beyond Litigation: Mapping HRO Strategies in Monitoring ECtHR Judgment Implementation

Abstract

Whilst the mobilisation practices of human rights organisations before the European Court of Human Rights have amassed a significant volume of scholarship, the interest in their role in the post-judgment process pales in comparison. This article seeks to contribute to the reversal of this trend by shining a light on Rule 9 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers, which establishes an official avenue for HROs to participate in the execution, as opposed to the litigation, of ECtHR decisions. Since its adoption in 2006, the procedure has led to 882 HRO communications and 346 government responses in 356 different cases. This article offers a qualitative empirical study of them. It combines abstract insights from observing patterns at the global level with specific insights from the close reading of the interventions, thereby providing an unprecedented look into the invaluable contribution HROs make to the ECtHR judgment implementation process. It argues that HROs resort to activation, contextualisation, and pragmatic strategies in pursuit of one overarching goal: preventing the premature closure of international supervision of a case. The article helps complete the picture of HRO participation in the ECHR implementation architecture.

Keywords: Monitoring compliance with judgments, European Court of Human Rights, Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, non-governmental organisations (NGO), Rule 9, judgment implementation