This article considers a scarcely explored perspective in relation to the execution of judgments of the ECtHR, notably, the formal involvement of NGOs and NHRIs. Rule 9(2) of the Committee of Minister Rules’ allows NGOs and NHRIs to participate in the supervision process for the execution of the Court’s judgments by submitting reports (Communications) in which these actors review and assess domestic authorities’ performance with respect to judgment execution. On the basis of interviews with important stakeholders, this article provides an all-round user-based perspective of this Rule 9 mechanism and its perceived impact. Doing so elucidates whether the Rule 9 procedure allows NGOs and NHRIs to engage in the important cycle of reporting and pressuring for change, the conclusions of which are important in assessing if and how Rule 9 works to advance the execution of judgments of the ECtHR.

Although relatively unknown, a formal role has been devised for non-governmental organisations and National Human Rights Institutions in the execution process of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. By virtue of Rule 9 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers, ngos and nhris are empowered to be involved in this process by submitting written Communications for consideration by the Committee of Ministers. This exploratory research identifies the role ngos and nhris play through Rule 9, and demonstrates the added value of involving these actors in this respect. As such, this article provides a first inventory and exploration of these Rule 9 Communications, detailing the extent to which Rule 9 is made use of, by whom, in what way and, finally, whether these Communications (visibly) play a role in the supervision process. Combined, this reveals that ngos and nhris use Rule 9 to review, assess and report on the performance of domestic authorities with regard to the execution of judgments of the ECtHR. In doing so, they appear to act as an amicus in the execution process, by providing valuable observations at the echr level and, as such, it is argued that their participation is a welcome one.

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Scholars who set out to study the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR or Convention) system will find an abundance in research methods to choose from. In the early years of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or Court), the methodological toolbox of the ECHR scholar largely consisted of qualitative and classical-doctrinal methods to study the Court's case law, as well as historical, philosophical and theoretical studies to contextualize the ECHR system. Today, these 'traditional' methods not only have evolved to reflect the enormous increase of, and scholarly interest in, the Court's case law but have also been complemented by empirical qualitative and quantitative, statistical and machine learning research methods. This contribution traces these major developments in the methods applied to studying the Court. By providing a comprehensive discussion of the different approaches, including their application, value and potential weaknesses, this contribution helps scholars understand, use and learn from the rich methodological toolbox of the ECHR scholar.

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