The European Court of Human Rights overwhelmed by applications : problems and possible solutions : international workshop, Heidelberg, December 17-18, 2007

The European Court of Human Rights is faced with a huge and ev- growing workload. Up until 1998, the Court pronounced only 837 judgments, while it rendered 4. 000 judgments in the last three years alone. On 18 September 2008, the European Court of Human Rights th delivered its 10. 000 judgment; currently, there are some 100. 000 cases pending before the Court. This enormous caseload is both a testimony to the Court’s success and of the considerable threat posed to the eff- tiveness of the protection of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols. Moreover, Protocol No. 14, which was intended to alleviate the problem by - creasing the efficiency of the Court, is still not in force. This publication is intended to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the reforms that are necessary to prevent a failure of the Eu- pean system of human rights protection. It compiles the contributions of a workshop which took place on 17-18 December 2007 at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg and the discussions following the presentations. The c- vening of this workshop was recommended by Christian Tomuschat. The conference brought together academics and practitioners and thus offered an excellent opportunity for the discussion of possible - proaches to the dilemma. International Workshop, Heidelberg, December 17-18, 2007. The European Court Of Human Rights Overwhelmed By Applications : Problems And Possible Solutions / Christian Tomuschat -- Discussion Following The Presentation By Christian Tomuschat -- The Admissibility Stage : The Pros And Cons Of A Certiorari Procedure For Individual Applications / Rudolf Bernhardt -- Discussion Following The Presentation By Rudolf Bernhardt -- The Interaction Between National Protection Of Human Rights And The Ecthr / Jochen Abr. Frowein -- Discussion Following The Presentation By Jochen Abr. Frowein -- Pilot Judgments In Cases Of Structural Or Systemic Problems On The National Level / Luzius Wildhaber -- Discussion Following The Presentation By Luzius Wildhaber -- Fair Trial And Excessive Length Of Proceedings As Focal Points Of The Ecthr's Increasing Caseload / Mark Villiger -- Discussion Following The Presentation By Mark Villiger. Rǖdiger Wolfrum, Ulrike Deutsch (eds.). Includes Bibliographical References. Front Matter....Pages 1-8 The European Court of Human Rights Overwhelmed by Applications:Problems and Possible Solutions....Pages 1-18 Discussion Following the Presentation by Christian Tomuschat....Pages 19-28 The Admissibility Stage: The Pros and Cons of a Certiorari Procedure for Individual Applications....Pages 29-36 Discussion Following the Presentation by Rudolf Bernhardt....Pages 37-50 The Interaction Between National Protection of Human Rights and the ECtHR....Pages 51-54 Discussion Following the Presentation by Jochen Abr. Frowein....Pages 55-67 Pilot Judgments in Cases of Structural or Systemic Problems on the National Level....Pages 69-75 Discussion Following the Presentation by Luzius Wildhaber....Pages 77-92 Fair Trial and Excessive Length of Proceedings as Focal Points of the ECtHR’s Increasing Caseload....Pages 93-102 Discussion Following the Presentation by Mark Villiger....Pages 103-119 Concluding Remarks....Pages 121-122 Back Matter....Pages 1-8 The European Court of Human Rights is faced with an enormous and ever-increasing caseload, which poses a considerable threat to the effectiveness of the protection of the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols. Compiling the contributions of distinguished academics and practitioners who are active in the field of European human rights law, this publication is meant as a contribution to the still ongoing discussion on the reform of the control mechanism of the European Court of Human Rights, which is necessary to prevent a failure of the European system of human rights protection