Whereas it is common today to focus on the overwhelming backlog of applications before the European Court of Human Rights, this book deliberately shows that the Court in Strasbourg could be seized by even more applicants if States Parties really confirmed to Article 34 ECHR, according to which “The High Contracting Parties undertake not to hinder in any way the effective exercise of this right”. In the past fifty years however, more and more direct or indirect hindrances have been devised.

This volume takes a very concrete and practical look at these hindrances and brings together both researchers and human rights defenders. After an introduction to the topic in Part 1, the second part of the book analyses the hindrances involving the most vulnerable groups (prisoners, migrants and foreigners) while the final Part deals with concrete experiences and sets forth a number of recommendations for a better prevention and sanctioning of these hindrances.