Quick guide

In 1953 the Council of Europe in Strasbourg passed a treaty called the European Convention of Human Rights.

All 47 member states of the Council of Europe, representing 800 million people, signed the treaty.

The rights contained in the treaty are fundamental. Any person in any of those 47 countries for whatever purpose is entitled to them. And government and all public bodies in those countries are legally obliged to respect them.

What the European Convention says