Universal Justice

Despite claiming support for the principles of universal human rights, many governments and their legal authorities commit abuses and are guilty of indemnity. Even in countries where human rights are firmly anchored in the legal system, violations often go unprosecuted and establishing abuse provides a significant challenges for international human rights lawyers. Reparation claims by victims, for example, are often dismissed at an initial stage.

ECCHR uses all available legal tools to bring institutions and governments guilty of the grave human rights abuses, such as killings, torture and enforced disappearances, to justice. One such tool is the initiation of formal, criminal complaints to various UN bodies, international courts and institutions, which utilizes the established infrastructure of the international legal system for the sake of furthering human rights.

Wolfgang Kaleck, General Secretary of ECCHR, has devoted many years to furthering human right's litigation. His work, which brought criminal complaints against members of the Argentinean military junta, eventually led to formal legal proceedings in Argentina. Kaleck and the Center are also responsible for issuing complaints against the U.S.A, Chechnya and Uzbekistan for grave human rights abuses, although these complaints have been dismissed.