Politicians playing political football with European Court of Human Rights to gain anti-migrant votes

Victims of abuse by institutions and by the British Army have got justice in the Strasbourg court. Why is the Irish Government playing politics with it asks Andrew Forde

Thirty-eight applications were lodged against Ireland before the European Court of Human Rights (pictured) in 2025 and 22 in 2024, all of which were inadmissible or struck out.

Recently, the 46 member states of the Council of Europe (which is not the EU), met in Chişinău, Moldova, to discuss some of Europe’s most pressing human rights issues. 

These include the possible establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression to hold the Russian (and possibly Belarussian and North Korean) leadership accountable for the invasion of Ukraine, alongside steps to secure financial reparations.