News

Tim Eicke Elected As The Next UK Judge On European Court Of Human Rights

By Sian Lea, Managing Director, Shiva Foundation 22 Jun 2016
Institutions

The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has elected Tim Eicke QC as the next UK judge to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Tim is a barrister and an expert in human rights, public and EU law, with a history of representing parties in the highest domestic and international courts and tribunals.

Tim is one of few barristers to have appeared in more than 20 cases in the UK Supreme Court and regularly advises on sensitive cases concerning national security. He authors and edits various human rights publications and provides trainings to international advocates.

Representatives of the member states vote to elect new judges. Of the 159 voting members, 94 cast their votes for Tim, which surpassed the necessary 80 votes to reach an absolute majority. Tim will take up this new position from 7 September 2016 when the current UK judge, Paul Mahoney, will step down. All ECtHR judges hold a non-renewable term of 9 years.

vote

Tim was one of three nominees undergoing a multi-stage process involving shortlisting by the UK justice secretary, multiple interviews, and ultimately the vote by PACE. For more detail about how the process works, see our post on it here.

The other two nominees, Jessica Simor QC and Murray Hunt, were incredibly strong contenders with impressive backgrounds in human rights.

Each of the 47 member states has one judge representing them on the ECtHR. And while the judge might be from a particular country, their judicial position means that they pledge to remain completely neutral when hearing cases brought to the ECtHR.

Congratulations all shortlisted candidates and especially to Tim!

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Image of vote The BMA © used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Licence. Tim Eicke image © Essex Court chambers.

About The Author

Sian Lea Managing Director, Shiva Foundation

Sian is currently the managing director of Shiva Foundation, an anti-trafficking organisation. She has an MA in Human Rights from UCL and Graduate Diploma in Law. Previously she worked in anti-trafficking in Cambodia.

Sian is currently the managing director of Shiva Foundation, an anti-trafficking organisation. She has an MA in Human Rights from UCL and Graduate Diploma in Law. Previously she worked in anti-trafficking in Cambodia.