07 May Protocol 16 to the ECHR entered into force on 1 august 2018
The Protocol 16 to the European Convention, adopted in 2013, has entered into force on 1 August of this year. France has ratified Protocol 16 and that was the tenth ratification, which therefore brought the instrument into force.
Protocol allows the highest domestic courts to request the European Court of Human Rights to give advisory opinions “on questions of principle relating to the interpretation or application of the rights and freedoms defined in the Convention or the protocols thereto” in cases pending before them. This means that the States Parties to the European Convention, which has ratified the Protocol, can prevent future violations. Of course, the greatest contribution of the protocol is the strengthening of cooperation between the ECHR and domestic courts, as well as relieving the court from a large number of cases.
The President of the European Court of Human Rights, Guido Raimondi, said: “The entry into force of Protocol No. 16 will strengthen dialogue between the European Convention on Human Rights and the national higher courts. This is a milestone in the history of the European Convention on Human Rights and a major step forward in human rights protection in Europe, as well as being a fresh challenge for our Court.”
When it comes to Protocol 15, it still needs to be ratified by all State parties. Four countries still have not ratified it: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Italy, and Spain. This protocol will introduce a reference to the principle of subsidiarity and the doctrine of the margin of appreciation and it will replace the upper age limit for judges by a requirement that candidates for the post of judge be less than 65 years of age. Protocol will also reduce from six to four months the time-limit within which an application may be made to the ECHR.
References from the offical webiste of the European Court of Human Rights