ECtHR Judgments in Focus: Critical Files Under the Council of Europe’s Enhanced Supervision Announced

ECtHR Judgments Under the Council of Europe’s Enhanced Supervision Draw Attention

The cases under “enhanced supervision” by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which monitors the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments, have returned to the spotlight. The list shared by the ECtHR Judgments Monitoring Initiative reveals that structural human rights issues involving many countries, including Turkey, continue to persist.

The enhanced supervision mechanism does not only focus on individual violations but also targets systematic issues. In this context, cases involving similar violations are grouped under the heading of “leading cases” and monitored collectively.

Why does supervision continue even if the individual violation is redressed?

According to experts, there are two fundamental reasons why supervision remains ongoing:

• Failure of states to implement general measures that would prevent the recurrence of similar violations.
• The continued influx of similar applications to the ECtHR, even if the individual violation in a specific case has been resolved.

This situation highlights that simply paying compensation is not sufficient to eliminate a violation.

Prominent Critical Cases

The list includes several high-profile rulings from recent years. Some of these are:

• Yüksel Yalçınkaya v. Turkey (2023): Violation of the right to a fair trial regarding convictions based on grounds such as the use of “ByLock” and union membership.
• Selahattin Demirtaş v. Turkey (No. 2) (2020): Detention for political purposes and interference with freedom of expression.
• Osman Kavala v. Turkey (2019): Prolonged detention without reasonable suspicion.
• Dink v. Turkey (2010): Failure to protect the life of journalist Hrant Dink and ineffective investigation.
• Opuz v. Turkey (2009): Failure of the state to fulfill its obligation to protect against domestic violence.

In addition to these, numerous rulings regarding freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, the prohibition of ill-treatment, and the right to a fair trial remain under supervision.

Structural Problems Persist

The list indicates that structural problems in the field of human rights continue in Turkey and across Europe. It is emphasized that similar violations recur, particularly in areas such as judicial independence, freedom of expression, and the use of force by law enforcement.

Experts state that for these files to be closed, it is essential not only to resolve individual applications but also to implement legal and institutional reforms.

Kaynak: ECtHR Judgments Monitoring Initiative