The Problem of Executing European Human Rights Court Judgments

Doktorska disertacija preučuje problem uresničevanja sodb ESČP prek obravnave temeljnih značilnosti sodb ESČP in nadzornega postopka pred Odborom ministrov. Poleg tega išče možnosti za pospeševanje izvrševanja sodb ESČP v okviru Protokola št. 14 k EKČP in ugotavlja, kdo vse in na kakšen način lahko v okviru Sveta Evrope in izven njega pripomore k uresničevanju sodb ESČP. V disertaciji so prav tako predstavljeni rezultati statistične analize uspešnosti izvrševanja zadev ter napetosti med EKČP in nacionalno ustavo. Podani so tudi predlogi za izboljšanje izvrševanja sodb. Disertacija v zadnjem delu najprej obravnava načelo res interpretata, nato se osredotoči na uresničevanje sodb ESČP v Sloveniji. Preučevanje se zaključi s sintetično pojasnitvijo uresničevanja sodb ESČP. Disertacija se ne omejuje zgolj na problematiko formalnega postopka nadzora nad izvrševanjem sodb ESČP pred Odborom ministrov in na razmerje med obsojeno državo in Odborom ministrov, temveč gre za veliko širšo obravnavo, ki raziskuje razsežnosti koncepta uresničevanja sodb tudi izven tega okvira nadzora. Na podlagi opravljene raziskave disertacija ugotavlja, da si moramo v zvezi s sodbami ESČP prizadevati za njihovo čim širše uresničevanje, ki je pristop, ki lahko pripomore k temu, da države izpolnjujejo svojo obveznost spoštovanja konvencijskih človekovih pravic iz 1. člena EKČP. Sodbe ESČP se lahko uresničuje skozi: notranji precedenčni učinek na ESČP, načelo res interpretata, sledenje nakazanim ukrepom v sodbah ter ugotovitvam in ukrepom iz postopka nadzora nad izvrševanjem sodb pred Odborom ministrov, aktivnosti obsojene države za izvršitev dokončne sodbe ESČP, formalni postopek nadzora nad izvrševanjem dokončne sodbe ESČP pred Odborom ministrov, postopek zaradi neizpolnitve obveznosti in postopek za razlago sodbe ter nenazadnje še skozi aktivnosti drugih deležnikov.The Ph.D. thesis examines the problem of the execution of ECtHR judgments by looking at the fundamental features of ECtHR judgments and the supervisory procedure before the Committee of Ministers. It also looks for ways to promote the execution of ECtHR judgments in the context of Protocol No. 14 to the ECHR and identifies who can contribute to the implementation of ECtHR judgments and in what ways, both within and outside the Council of Europe’s framework. The dissertation also presents the results of a statistical analysis of the execution of cases and the tensions between the ECHR and national constitutions. Suggestions for improving the execution of judgments are also made. In the last part of the dissertation, first the principle of res interpretata is discussed and then the execution of ECtHR judgments in Slovenia. The study concludes with a synthetic explanation of the execution in a broader sense of ECtHR judgments. The dissertation is not limited to the issues of the formal procedure of supervision of the execution of ECtHR judgments before the Committee of Ministers and the relationship between the respondent state and the Committee of Ministers. It is a much broader study that explores the dimensions of the concept of the execution of judgments also outside this framework of supervision before the Committee. Based on the research undertaken, the thesis concludes that, concerning ECtHR judgments, we should strive for their widest possible execution, an approach that can help States to fulfil their obligation under Article 1 of the ECHR to respect the Convention\u27s human rights. The ECtHR judgments can thus be implemented, i.e., executed in a broader sense, through: the internal precedential effect by the ECtHR, the principle of res interpretata, respect of the measures indicated in the judgments and the findings and measures of supervision procedure before the Committee of Ministers, activities of respondent State to comply with the final judgment of the ECtHR, formal supervision procedure before the Committee of Ministers, the infringement procedure and the procedure for the interpretation of judgment, and last but not least, through the activities of other stakeholders