Selected issues of international standards for the protection of human rights

Abstract

The relevance of the study is обусловлена increasing pressure on international judicial institutions, the deepening proceduralisation of human rights, and the fragmented implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) at the national level. In the context of growing socio-political instability, the transformation of judicial systems, and the digitalization of justice, particular importance is attached to analyzing the effectiveness of international standards as instruments for ensuring the effective protection of individual rights and freedoms. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current functioning of international human rights protection standards in the European legal space based on the generalization of statistical data, judicial practice, and mechanisms for the implementation of ECtHR judgments. The study's methodological framework draws on general scientific and specialized legal research methods, including analysis and synthesis, a systemic-structural approach, the formal legal method, comparative legal analysis, the statistical method, and the method of generalizing judicial practice. The research relies on official data from the Council of Europe, materials of the European Court of Human Rights, and international and national legal acts. The article analyzes the dynamics of the ECtHR’s procedural workload in 2015–2024, the territorial structure of pending applications, thematic areas of Convention violations, and judicial practice concerning the application of Article 6. A high concentration of applications in certain states, the predominance of procedural violations, and persistent institutional dysfunctions in judicial protection are identified. A relationship has been established between the level of execution of ECtHR judgments, the quality of the administration of justice at the national level, and the effectiveness of the functioning of legal oversight mechanisms. The role of internal institutional factors in shaping the preventive potential of international standards is substantiated. The practical significance of the findings lies in their potential application to the activities of judicial authorities, human rights institutions, and educational organizations, and to the development of measures to improve mechanisms for enforcing ECtHR judgments.