Artikel 1

1. Where a judgment has been given against a State Party to the Convention and that State does not give effect thereto, the party which seeks to invoke the judgment shall be entitled to have determined the question whether effect should be given to the judgment in conformity with Article 20 or Article 25 of the Convention, by instituting proceedings before either:
(a) the competent court of that State in application of Article 21 of the Convention; or
(b) the European Tribunal constituted in conformity with the provisions of Part III of the present Protocol, provided that that State is a Party to the present Protocol and has not made the declaration referred to in Part IV thereof.
The choice between these two possibilities shall be final.
2. If the State intends to institute proceedings before its court in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 21 of the Convention, it must give notice of its intention to do so to the party in whose favour the judgment has been given; the State may thereafter institute such proceedings only if the party has not, within three months of receiving notice, instituted proceedings before the European Tribunal. Once this period has elapsed, the party in whose favour the judgment has been given may no longer institute proceedings before the European Tribunal.
3. Save in so far as may be necessary for the application of Articles 20 and 25 of the Convention, the European Tribunal may not review the merits of the judgment.