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The original purpose of the European Convention on Human rights was to codify the freedoms protected by liberal European democracies and thus serve as a bulwark against the reemergence of totalitarianism. But judges have continuously interpreted the convention far beyond its wording and original purpose, Jacob Mchangama and Aaron Rhodes of the Freedom Rights Project argue in The Wall Street Journal Europe.

The human rights institution of the Council of Europe has been one of history’s most successful human rights initiatives, but today it is struggling with fundamental problems. In late April, ministers and top diplomats from 47 countries assembled in Brighton, England, to stake out the way forward. But the problems at the core of the European Human Rights System once again were not addressed.