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UN Committee against Torture takes a stand against Italy’s leadership in “letter of nine” process
As the build-up towards the Chisinau Declaration continues, with the corresponding meeting of the Committee of Ministers just days away, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) has taken a clear stand on some of the issues raised by the “letter of nine”/”statement…
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Podcast on Migration and the ECtHR
The newest episode on the European Law-oriented podcast Europa Felix is dedicated to the current discussions around the European Court of Human Rights and migration. Its host, Felix Ronkes Agerbeek, interviews researcher Eva Sevrin (universities of Ghent and Leuven) on what the…
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Stop Blaming the Migrants: The Chisinau Process as the Symptom of a Global Pushback against Otherness
According to the Ministers of the Council of Europe, a political declaration on migration and the European system of human rights protection is urgently needed considering the “migration crisis” and migrant smuggling European States and societies are facing. They cite the overly…
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New ECHR Readings
Please find below our new selection of academic publications about the European Convention on Human Rights and its Court. Enjoy reading! ‘The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has played a crucial role in advancing transgender rights in Europe over the past…
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New Judgment Implementation Report
With so much attention going to the much debated and upcoming Chișinău Declaration, also on our blog, attention has been less on the ongoing routines of the ECHR system. In that context, the Committee of Ministers recently published its Annual Report on…
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Transnational Bad Faith and Non-Refoulement: Pretending Compliance with ECtHR Interim Measures
Introduction In the early hours of 5 April, Georgia, acting in collaboration with Azerbaijan, violated an interim measure issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in a case pending against Georgia. Despite the interim measures requiring it not to do…
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Conference on Revisiting the ECHR
On the 22nd of May 2026, the Human Rights Research Group of the Leuven University’s Centre for Public Law is organizing a conference entitled ‘Revisiting the ECHR: A Closer Look at Calls for Change‘. The impetus for the conference was the by…
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A Critical Look at the Implicit Messages in the CDDH Outcome Document with Elements for the Chișinău Declaration
The outcome document ‘containing elements for a political declaration’ that the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) of the Council of Europe published on 20 March 2026 deserves a critical look. Thus, it can be established whether the CDDH managed to take…
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The Chișinău Process: Dialogue or Duress?
It has been a testing year for the European Court of Human Rights, from the letter of nine states in May 2025 to the Joint Statement of 27 to the Chișinău process that will culminate in a political declaration on migration on…
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A Statement Built on Shaky Ground: Unveiling the Controversial Assumptions in the 27 Countries’ Statement
On December 10, 2025, twenty-seven countries delivered a joint statement to the Council of Europe’s conference of ministers of justice, calling for an “updated interpretation” of the European Convention on Human Rights in light of what the signatories identify as “today’s challenges.”…
