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" Justice delayed and justice denied ", 2025 Edition, by Démocracy Reporting International (DRI)
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" Justice delayed and justice denied ", 2025 Edition, by Démocracy Reporting International (DRI)
du 1 avril 2026 au 8 avril 2026
Authors
Democracy Reporting International (DRI)
European Implementation Network (EIN)
Expert from France :
Dr. Hélène Gaudin, Full Professor of Public Law and Director of the Institute of Research in European, International and Comparative Law (IRDEIC) at the University of Toulouse-Capitole.
Thomas Escach-Dubourg, PhD at the University of Toulouse-Capitole
Democracy Reporting International (DRI)
European Implementation Network (EIN)
Expert from France :
Dr. Hélène Gaudin, Full Professor of Public Law and Director of the Institute of Research in European, International and Comparative Law (IRDEIC) at the University of Toulouse-Capitole.
Thomas Escach-Dubourg, PhD at the University of Toulouse-Capitole
European Governments Ignore Binding Court Rulings: A Systemic Rule of Law Issue - Report
This publication was produced by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and the European Implementation Network (EIN) as part of the re:constitution programme and a rule of law project, funded by Stiftung Mercator
When courts speak, do governments listen?
What happens when governments ignore the rulings of Europe’s highest courts? For thousands of citizens across the EU, the answer is a persistent denial of justice and a weakening of the rule of law that underpins our democracies. Since 2022, Democracy Reporting International and the European Implementation Network have jointly tracked how EU Member States implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU in an annual report: ‘Justice Delayed and Justice Denied’.
Our findings consistently reveal a systemic failure: EU member states are leaving binding judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) unimplemented for years, allowing human rights violations and rule of law infringements to continue and eroding public trust in these institutions.
A system under strain: The 2025 Report
The fourth edition of Justice Delayed and Justice Denied examines 382 CJEU rulings and 650 ECtHR rulings, exposing a pattern of delay, partial compliance, and, in some cases, outright defiance. Certain member States routinely leave judgments from European courts unimplemented for years; non-compliance is increasingly accompanied by open or implicit contestation of European courts’ authority by political actors and, at times, by top national courts.
*Assessments on the ECtHR valid as of 1 January 2025 and CJEU data as of 1 May 2025
When courts speak, do governments listen?
What happens when governments ignore the rulings of Europe’s highest courts? For thousands of citizens across the EU, the answer is a persistent denial of justice and a weakening of the rule of law that underpins our democracies. Since 2022, Democracy Reporting International and the European Implementation Network have jointly tracked how EU Member States implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU in an annual report: ‘Justice Delayed and Justice Denied’.
Our findings consistently reveal a systemic failure: EU member states are leaving binding judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) unimplemented for years, allowing human rights violations and rule of law infringements to continue and eroding public trust in these institutions.
A system under strain: The 2025 Report
The fourth edition of Justice Delayed and Justice Denied examines 382 CJEU rulings and 650 ECtHR rulings, exposing a pattern of delay, partial compliance, and, in some cases, outright defiance. Certain member States routinely leave judgments from European courts unimplemented for years; non-compliance is increasingly accompanied by open or implicit contestation of European courts’ authority by political actors and, at times, by top national courts.
*Assessments on the ECtHR valid as of 1 January 2025 and CJEU data as of 1 May 2025