Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland says reform at the European Court of Human Rights will focus resources on the “most important issues.”
He told Sky News earlier today that: “People are not aware of what kind of cases they can bring to the court. The court is obliged to use too many resources on those cases that should not be here. That is why we need to reform procedures so the court can focus on the most important human rights issues.”
More than 90% of complaints to the court from the UK are declared inadmissible, a figure Jagland said was reflected across member states.
He endorsed British calls for changes to the court as giving “strength” to reforms already underway and confirmed that the United Kingdom’s government had a “wide range of manoeuvre” on impelmenting the Strasbourg judgement which cleared the way for prisoner voting in the country.
The Secretary General also urged dissenting British voices not to turn their backs on the European Convention on Human Rights which the nation’s former leader Sir Winston Churchill helped establish in the aftermath of World War Two.
Jagland added: The United Kingdom is a leading nation. It is performing very well with regards to human rights. It is important for the UK that we have a Europe of common standards and obligations
“We need to go back to the roots of the court and discuss why we have it and why we need it in today’s Europe.”
Thorbjørn Jagland’s Sky News interview – Part 1
Thorbjørn Jagland’s Sky News interview – Part 2
Video: Reforms to human rights “overarching” theme for Europe, says UK Foreign Secretary
Podcast: William Hague calls for a “focussed” Strasbourg court
