The Court, based in Strasbourg, was set up as a result of the
European Convention on Human Rights, created in 1950. This set
out a catalogue of civil and political rights and freedoms. It
allows people to lodge complaints against States which have
signed up to the Convention for alleged violations of those
rights. Although founded in 1950, the Court did not actually
come into existence until 1959. It gained its present form as a
single European Court of Human Rights when Protocol No. 11 to
the ECHR took effect in 1998. The Court is currently made up of
47 judges, one in principle for every State signed up to the
Convention. They are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe and serve for six years. Judges sit on the
Court as individuals and do not represent their country.