On 4 November 2000, at Rome, Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ETS No. 177) was done. One original, English and French equally authentic, deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe; the Secretary General transmits certified copies to each member State. It is open for signature by member States that have signed the Convention; a member State may not ratify, accept or approve it without previously or simultaneously ratifying the Convention. It is not the Convention itself of 4 November 1950, not Protocol No. 11 of 1994 and not Protocol No. 14.

Article 1, general prohibition of discrimination: (1) the enjoyment of any right set forth by law shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status; (2) no one shall be discriminated against by any public authority on any ground such as those mentioned in paragraph 1. Unlike Article 14 of the Convention, which covers only the rights “set forth in this Convention”, the Protocol removes that limit.

Article 2: territorial application. A State may, at signature or on deposit of its instrument, specify the territory or territories; it may later extend application by a declaration to the Secretary General; it may withdraw the declaration. A declaration under this article is deemed made in accordance with Article 56, paragraph 1, of the Convention. A State which has made such a declaration may later accept the Court’s competence to receive applications from individuals, non-governmental organisations or groups of individuals as provided by Article 34 of the Convention in respect of Article 1 of this Protocol.

Article 3: as between the States Parties, Articles 1 and 2 shall be regarded as additional articles to the Convention, and all the provisions of the Convention shall apply accordingly. Article 4: instruments are deposited with the Secretary General. Article 5: the Protocol enters into force on the first day of the month following the expiry of three months after the date on which ten member States have expressed consent to be bound; for later States, the same three-month rule from deposit. The Court’s collection and the Treaty Office record 1 April 2005. Article 6: notifications of signatures, instruments, dates of entry into force, and any other act.

The Explanatory Report, also of the Rome date, lists four categories covered beyond Article 14: a right specifically conferred by national law; a clear obligation of public authorities; the exercise of discretionary powers; other acts or omissions by public authorities. Current ratification counts are not given here. Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a 2009 judgment, not the day’s text.

Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome. A protocol square of the capital, not the confirmed hall of the opening for signature. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

For context: Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights. The text: Protocol No. 12 ETS 177.