Justice delayed and justice denied: New report on non-implementation of European court rulings

Over the past few years, governments, media and citizens have become increasingly alarmed about the backsliding of fundamental European values. Yet, while the rule of law is becoming an issue of sanctions and hard political controversy, one missing piece of the rule of law puzzle is often overlooked: the non-implementation of judgments of two key European courts, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The non-implementation of judgments of the European Courts has become a systemic problem. Around 40% of the leading judgments of the ECtHR relating to EU states from the last ten years have not been implemented. Each of these judgments represents a significant or structural problem, often with direct consequences for many citizens. And yet, authorities have not implemented them.

At the same time, the CJEU is facing increasing contestation. While a certain resistance against the Luxembourg-based court is nothing new, it has increased in recent years, with courts and governments in EU Member States openly challenging the top body of the EU’s judiciary.

To shed more light on these worrying trends, Democracy Reporting International and the European Implementation Network (EIN) published the joint report ’Justice Delayed and Justice Denied: Non-Implementation of European Courts Judgments and the Rule of Law’ offering a unique methodology that ranks member states based on three criteria: the number of leading judgments pending implementation, the proportion of leading judgments pending implementation from the last ten years and the average time leading cases have remained unimplemented. Have a glance at the resulting ranking on the map and download the report below.