The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) was originally established along with the European Commission of Human Rights under Article 19 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR, 1950), to ensure respect for the commitments arising from the Convention for the Contracting Parties. It is the first international court created specifically for the protection of human rights in a particular region of the world. Its first session took place in February 1959. Since 1998, with the entry into force of Protocol I to the ECHR, the structure and functioning of the human rights protection mechanism established by the Convention has been reformed, merging the Commission and the Court into a single permanent Court. Further amendments to the structure and functioning of the new Court were introduced with Protocol XIV to the ECHR, which entered into force on June 1, 2010, and with Protocol XVI to the ECHR, which entered into force on August 1, 2018.

The Court is composed of one judge for each State party to the ECHR. These judges are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and sit in their individual capacity, thus not representing the country in respect of which they were elected; they serve for a period of nine years and are not re-eligible.

For each case submitted to it, the Court can proceed in the composition of a single judge, in committees of three judges, in chambers of seven judges, and in a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The ECtHR has jurisdiction over all disputes concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention and its Protocols that are submitted to it through inter-state applications (Article 33) and by individuals, NGOs, and groups claiming to be victims of a violation by one of the Contracting States of the rights recognized in the Convention or its Protocols (Article 34). Once final, the Court's judgments are reasoned and made public. They are binding on the States parties involved in the disputes discussed on the merits and are transmitted to the Committee of Ministers, which supervises their execution (Article 46). The Court can also provide reasoned advisory opinions on legal questions relating to the interpretation of the Convention and its Protocols at the request of the Committee of Ministers (Article 47).