Taking interim relief seriously?: Precautionary measures in the European Court of Human Right's case-law

Interim relief pursues a vital role as its purpose is not only to enable an effective examination of the case at hand, but also to ensure that the protection afforded to the claimant is effective. In order to achieve those aims, interim measures need to be adopted in a very short period of time and when the claimant faces an irreparable harm. In the last years, interim relief has become a distinctive feature of the European System of Human Rights. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the European Court of Human Right's practice and case - law in order to determine whether it is truly guaranteeing rights that are real and effective through its interim measures.