Dean Spielmann New President of the European Court
Baku, September 11 (AZERTAC). The judge elected on behalf of Luxembourg, Dean Spielmann, has today been elected by his peers as the successor to the Court's current President, Nicolas Bratza. The latter's term of office as judge at the European Court of Human Rights is due to expire on 31 October. Spielmann will succeed him on 1 November. The change comes after a momentous year in the Court's history, with more external criticism than before (although the storm seems to have subsided a little) and with the Brighton reforms on the agenda for the years to come. Judge Spielmann will thus face not only the daunting task of more streamlining of the Court's own procedures in order to tackle the now finally slightly decreasing caseload - in addition, his role will also be one of public diplomacy in continuing to explain - like his predecessors - the Court's important role in the European system of human rights protection.
Dean Spielmann has been a judge at the Court since 2004, Section President since 2011 and Vice-President since this summer.
The election also led to more reshuffling within the Court. Guido Raimondi, judge in respect of Italy, will be Vice-President as of 1 November and Mark Villiger (Liechtenstein) and Isabelle Berro-Lefèvre (Monaco) will become Section Presidents. They have all been elected for a three-year term and will take up their respective duties on 1st November 2012.
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