Nine years and no second term: how judges reach the European Court of Human Rights

Background

Judges of the European Court of Human Rights are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Each State proposes a list of three candidates, and the Assembly chooses from that list. A judge serves a non-renewable term of nine years. Although a judge is elected in respect of a State, they hear cases as individuals and do not represent that State. The Court is led by its President and is organised into five Sections, each headed by a Section President, two of whom also serve as Vice-Presidents of the Court. A Chamber is the judicial formation within a Section, while the Section itself is an administrative entity. The Grand Chamber comprises 17 judges, including the President of the Court, the Vice-Presidents, the Presidents of the Sections and the national judge, with the remaining judges designated by drawing lots. A panel of five judges decides whether a case is referred to the Grand Chamber, and such examination stays the exception to the rule.