Judges of the European Court of Human Rights are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with respect to each High Contracting Party (State) by a majority of votes cast from a list of three candidates nominated by the Government of that State. The Convention, as amended by Protocol 14, stipulates that the term of office of a judge of the Court is nine years and may not be renewed. The current judge elected in respect of Ireland is Ann Power-Forde, who was elected to the position by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in January 2008 and consequently her term will expire in 2017. The process to begin the selection of three candidates to go forward for election will not commence until a request from the Council of Europe is received. Previous judges of the European Court of Human Rights elected with respect to Ireland are as follows: John Hedigan (1998-2007), Brian Walsh (1980-1998), Philip O’Donoghue (1971-1980), Conor Alexander Maguire (1965-1971), and Richard McGonigal (1959-1964). Article 21 of the Convention requires that judges sit on the Court in their individual capacity and not as national representatives. It is a full-time position and judges' salaries are paid by the Council of Europe not the High Contracting Party in respect of which they are elected. The current annual salary for the position is €235,788. The budget of the European Court of Human Rights comes from the overall Council of Europe budget financed by contributions from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. The 2013 contribution of Ireland to the Council of Europe was €2,441,187. The overall Council of Europe budget for 2013 is €244 million, of which €67 million is for the European Court of Human Rights.
