Protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms that provides for the reform of the European Court of Human Rights entered into force on 1 June 2010. The reform of the Court includes the introduction of a single judge to assess the admissibility of applications, new criteria for decision-making on the admissibility of applications – “significant disadvantage”, as well as the possibility of the EU acceding to the Convention. The innovations are aimed at securing greater efficiency and faster processing of the more than 100,000 applications currently before the Court. We emphasise the reforms in light of the importance of the long-term sustainability of the most significant European mechanism for the protection of human rights. You can find out more about the new measures instigated by the reforms of the Court here.