The
European Court of Human Rights (
ECtHR; ) is a
supranational or international court established by the
European Convention on Human Rights. It hears applications alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the
human rights provisions concerning civil and political rights set out in the Convention and its protocols. An application can be lodged by an individual, a group of individuals or one or more of the other contracting states, and, besides judgments, the Court can also issue advisory opinions. The Convention was adopted within the context of the
Council of Europe, and all of its
47 member states are contracting parties to the Convention. The Court is based in
Strasbourg,
France.