Abstract
This article seeks to examine the effectiveness of the fact-finding activities undertaken by the European Court of Human Rights (and the former Commission). It argues that while some fact-finding missions have revealed certain weaknesses in the past, the very conduct of such missions remains indispensable – in the interests both of litigants and the credibility of the Strasbourg system itself. Therefore, some greater thought needs to be given to practical ways and means to fully tap the Court's fact-finding potential.