European Convention on Human Rights and Court of Justice

The ECHR was opened for signature in Rome on 4 November 1950 and entered into force on 3 September 1953. Switzerland ratified it in 1974.

The ECHR is unique among human rights instruments in that it has established a control mechanism which enables any individual who has exhausted all remedies through the national courts to take a case to the European Court of Human Rights for a violation of the ECHR or its protocols. Until 31 October 1998, such cases were reviewed by the European Commission of Human Rights. With the entry into force of the 11th Additional Protocol on 1 November 1998, the ECHR's protection mechanism was fundamentally restructured. On that date, the European Court of Human Rights became a permanent court with full-time judges, replacing the European Commission of Human Rights. 

The European Court of Human Rights is tasked with monitoring the states parties' compliance with their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. It has its seat in Strasbourg and is composed of the same number of judges as there are states parties to the European Convention on Human Rights, i.e. 46 (one judge per state party). Andreas Zünd, a Swiss national, has served as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights since January 2021.

The Swiss government is represented in the European Court of Justice by the International Human Rights Protection Unit of the Federal Office of Justice. Forms to file complaints with the court and an information sheet can be obtained from the Federal Office of Justice or the European Court of Justice.