Where did the ECHR come from?

Following the atrocities of World War II, countries were united in their mission to ensure governments-of-the-day would never again be able to pick and choose who gets rights and who doesn’t. In 1949, 10 countries (including the UK), agreed the Treaty of London which created the Council of Europe – an international organisation “convinced that the pursuit of peace based upon justice and international co-operation is vital for the preservation of human society and civilisation”.

The Council of Europe then created the ECHR, which the UK helped write. Since then, 46 countries have signed up to it. The ECHR is inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR), which was written by the United Nations and is influential but not legally binding.