EIN appoints Anne-Katrin Speck and George Stafford as Co-Directors

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Anne-Katrin Speck and George Stafford as co-directors of EIN.

Anne holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law and is a Research Associate on the Human Rights Law Implementation (HRLIP) Project at Middlesex University, London, where she is also studying for a PhD.

She previously worked within the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

George qualified as a barrister in London, where he also worked as a judicial advisor in the Court of Appeal.

Since then he has worked as a legal researcher with the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association in Tbilisi, as a press officer at the European Court of Human Rights, and on a project on the impact of the ECHR at the Council of Europe.

Anne and George will act as co-directors, each working half-time. George will start on 1 October 2018, while Anne will start on 1 January 2019

New EIN handbook: a further step to demystifying the ECtHR judgments execution process

For many NGOs wanting to support implementation of ECtHR judgments, the Strasbourg judgment execution process presents daunting challenges. Although there is accessible information about the outlines of the process and the general role of NGOs, engaging effectively requires much more: a detailed understanding how the process works, (for example, how cases are categorised, the differing procedures under which they may be treated, the different stages of the process), and a clear grasp of what to say and when to say it. Without this understanding, NGO submissions can lack impact, even for such basic reasons as including the wrong type of information or the information being submitted too late.

EIN’s new handbook is an important step towards demystifying the process. Prepared with the benefit of input from experienced NGOs during implementation training workshops and with detailed technical advice by the Department for the Execution of Judgments, it provides comprehensive guidance for NGOs, injured parties and their legal advisers. It sets out both a clear description of the Council of Europe’s supervision procedure, and a detailed step-by-step guide to how NGOs and injured parties can engage with this procedure most effectively.

There is wide concern that in many Council of Europe member States implementation of ECtHR judgments is all too often inadequate. NGOs have a vital role to play in improving the quality of implementation. But, in part because of the “black box” that has existed around the judgment execution process, NGOs have intervened in only a small fraction of cases. EIN hopes that this handbook will enable a significant improvement in both the quantity and quality of submissions by NGOs and thereby make a real contribution to improving implementation of ECtHR judgments.

EIN gives evidence on civil society's role in the implementation of judgments

Participants in the hearing. Photo: EIN

On 9 October, EIN was invited to participate in a hearing of the Committee of Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). This hearing focused on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and took place in the context of the report prepared by PACE member Evangelos Venizelos.

The hearing was the occasion for EIN Co-Director George Stafford to provide information about the difficulties faced by civil society when engaging with the monitoring process for the implementation of ECtHR judgments. Significant barriers to the involvement of civil society in this process are the lack of openness and transparency in the system: the supervision system is very closed, lacks easy-to-access information. In addition, it contains almost no official guidance, and can only be engaged with in two particular languages. These things mean that expertise and time is required to engage in it. These are things that NGOs are very short of.

EIN Treasurer and EIN Co-Director George Stafford at the hearing. Photo: EIN

EIN tries to support civil society organisations’ efforts to overcome these problems, mainly by providing information and training. It has also just published a handbook on the implementation process, which contains the key information about how organisations can participate in the supervision process.

At the end of his intervention, EIN Co-Director George Stafford called for comprehensive improvements under three broad headings - information, inclusion and training - to help NGOs and NHRIs engage in the process.

You can access the full text of the presentation of EIN Co-Director George Stafford here.