This document gives a history of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court), its purpose , composition and the challenges it faces. All member states of the Council of Europe are required to become a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and thus are subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. The Court faces difficult challenges in light of its current resources, as a result of the enormous number of individual applications being lodged, coupled with the backlog of cases pending before it.
