Chapter 3 • The Major Regional Human Rights Instruments and the Mechanisms for Their Implementation thereto” (art. 34). The “High Contracting Parties undertake not to hinder in any way the effective exercise of this right” (art. 34, in fine). The right to bring inter-State and individual complaints to the Court does not depend on any specific act of acceptance. The Court may not, however, deal with an application of any kind unless domestic remedies have been exhausted and the application has been submitted within six months from the date on which the final decision was taken (art. 35(1)). Further criteria of admissibility exist with regard to individual applications, which must not, for instance, be anonymous or “substantially the same as a matter that has already been examined by the Court or has already been submitted to another procedure of international investigation or settlement and contains no relevant new information” (art. 35(2)). The Court decides on the admissibility and merits of the case and, if necessary, undertakes an investigation. After having declared a case admissible, it also places itself “at the disposal of the parties concerned with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the matter on the basis of respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the protocols thereto” (art. 38(1)(b)). Hearings before the Court are public, unless it decides otherwise in “exceptional circumstances” (art. 40). Within a period of three months from the date of the judgment of the Chamber, any party to the case may, in exceptional circumstances, request that the case be referred to a Grand Chamber. If the request is accepted, the Grand Chamber shall decide the case by means of a judgment that shall be final (arts. 43-44). Otherwise, the judgment of the Chamber will be final when the parties declare that they have no intention of requesting referral to the Grand Chamber; or three months after the judgment in the absence of such a request; or, finally, when the request for referral has been rejected (art. 44). The High Contracting Parties “undertake to abide by the final judgment of the Court in any case to which they are parties”; the execution of the final judgment is supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (art. 46). The implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights is monitored by the European Court of Human Rights, which is a permanent and full-time body, sitting in l Committees of 3 judges; l Chambers of 7 judges; or l a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Court is competent to receive and examine l inter-State cases; and l applications from any person, non-governmental organization or group of individuals claiming to be the victim of a violation of the rights guaranteed by the Convention or its Protocols. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers 101

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