60 YEARS OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS

The article is devoted to the anniversary of a fundamental European act in the sphere of human rights - the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) that will be 60 years on November 4, 2010. Along with the evaluation of the contribution of the ECHR to the development of legal standards of the Council of Europe in the sphere of human rights, as well as the impact of the ECHR and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) upon national legislation and law-enforcement practice of the ECHR member-states, including the Russian Federation, the article focuses on the future of the ECHR in the context of the possibility of extension of the catalogue of human rights and freedoms consolidated in the ECHR, a new stage of reforming the ECHR control mechanism and the perspectives of accession of the European Union to ECHR.