The Pick our Brains sessions of the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights are for both PhD students and more senior members of our Centre and members of other research centres and universities. These sessions are intended as a mode of intellectual stimulation and exchange, or to potentially promote collaborations within/outside the Centre. The sessions are also designed as an opportunity to get feedback on ongoing/upcoming research, showcase recent research and events at which you presented, as well as to enable an exchange of scholarly ideas. Each session contains a short presentation and a lively debate. A small lunch is provided as well. 

These sessions will take place physically and online. The Zoom link for the online sessions will be distributed later. 

On 1 May our speaker is Naz Yılancıoğlu (PhD Candidate, Maastricht University).  Time: 12.00-13.30hrs. 

Abstract:
In 2024, 6601 judgments are pending before the Committee of Ministers for supervision in their execution, including 1356 leading judgments. These leading judgments indicate the presence of new structural or general problems within a respondent Member State of the Council of Europe (Member State). Consequently, non-execution and delayed execution of judgments within the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) stem from various reasons, including national authorities' reluctance, insufficient capacity, and institutional factors. Understanding the complexity of the execution process requires a comprehensive analysis of national systems within the state responsible for execution as the execution of judgments is primarily the responsibility of national authorities.

The Member States employ diverse mechanisms for the execution of the ECtHR judgments. Depending on the type of remedies ordered, such as general and individual measures, one or many national actors may participate in the execution process. Therefore, the execution of judgments often requires the participation of diverse state actors and institutions. These can range from different ministries and departments to other branches of the Member State, such as the legislature and the judiciary, that are independent of the executive.

Drawing from my ongoing PhD research, my presentation explores the execution of ECtHR judgments from an institutional perspective. Within this context, this presentation focuses on different execution systems, emphasising the involvement of the three branches of government—executive, legislature, and judiciary—in executing ECtHR judgments. This examination will
encompass a typology of execution systems, with particular attention to specific states with comparative analyses.

The primary objective of the presentation is to explore the multifaceted process of executing the Court's judgments within the national legal context. It identifies institutional differences among Member States, particularly those characterised by a diffusion of the execution process among national institutions.