The European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) was established in 2003 with the support of the European Commission. Its primary aim is to assist individuals, lawyers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within the Russian Federation and Georgia, to take cases to the European Court of Human Rights, whilst working to transfer skills and build the capacity of the human rights community.
EHRAC has a long-established partnership with the Russian NGO, Memorial. Formal partnerships were initiated with the Georgian NGOs, Georgian Young Lawyers' Association in 2006 and Article 42 of the Constitution in 2008. EHRAC also has links with many other NGOs and lawyers throughout the Russian Federation, Georgia and in other former Soviet Union countries.
EHRAC implements three complementary programmes:
Human Rights Litigation and Advocacy
EHRAC is currently working on around 250 Russian and Georgian cases at the European Court. These cases concern, among others, extrajudicial executions, disappearance, ethnic discrimination, environmental pollution, torture and criminal justice. Click here for more information on EHRAC's litigation work.
Human Rights Training
By training local lawyers, EHRAC aims to give ordinary people across Russia and Georgia access to lawyers who have the knowledge and skills to represent them effectively at the European Court. EHRAC organises formal training seminars, a legal skills development programme and produces Russian-language training materials.
Raising Awareness and Dissemination of Information
EHRAC actively seeks to draw international attention to the human rights situation in Russia and Georgia and raise awareness of the results of its litigation work. This is achieved through press releases, the EHRAC Bulletin and other events.
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Constitutional Court press release 26.2.10
Press release: four judgments
