Record number of ECtHR cases closed in 2017

There were 7,584 pending cases at the end of 2017, compared to around 11,000 cases three years earlier. 1,379 of the cases pending at the end of last year were leading cases – highlighting important structural problems – whereas the others were mainly repetitive cases.

These are some of the main findings from the Committee of Ministers’ annual report for 2017 on the supervision of the execution of judgments and decisions of the court.

The report states that ongoing reforms, improved cooperation with national authorities and changes to the policy for closing cases contributed to the high number of closures in 2017.

Significant progress was also noted in many countries towards resolving often long-standing problems – including those related to the actions of the police and the security forces, the efficiency of the judiciary and poor conditions of detention.

Nevertheless, important challenges remain to make sure that reforms take place speedily and efficiently, to provide timely redress to applicants and to prevent repetitive cases. New complex problems are also constantly coming before the committee, such as those related to unresolved conflict zones in Europe.