§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the average length of time for the disposal of a case before the European Court of Human Rights from the time of petition to the time of setting down for trial.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe average time taken from petition to the European Commission of Human Rights to judgment by the Court is about four and a half years.
§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many petitions have been brought by United Kingdom citizens before the European Court of Human Rights in each of the years since its establishment.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggCases are referred to the European Court of Human Rights by the Commission or by the state concerned, not by individuals. We do not have a figure for the total number of petitions received by the Commission. Many are rejected as unfounded or frivolous, and details of these are not notified to the Governments concerned.
§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many judgments adverse to the British Government have been delivered by the European Court of Human Rights.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe European Court of Human Rights has delivered 31 judgments adverse to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many petitions brought by United Kingdom citizens have been accepted by the European Court of Human Rights as being within its jurisdiction in each of the years since its establishment.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggIn all, 48 individual applications against the United Kingdom have been referred by the European Commission of Human Rights to the Court and resulted in judgments on the merits. The number of those applications which have been brought by United Kingdom citizens is not readily available and could be determined only at disproportionate cost.