Introduction

The architects of the ECHR would surely be aghast if they knew that in little more than six decades an edifi ce built to last already seems to be crumbling. Few would put money on this post-war regional human rights apparatus surviving in any recognizable form if one of its founders and most prominent members were to exit. It is not diffi cult to imagine that states such as Russia or Ukraine, which are far more prone to be found in breach of the ECHR than the UK, would soon follow suit.