Judicial Dialogue in the Human Rights Domain

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 400-408
Author(s):  
Bożena Gronowska

Abstract Judicial dialogue in the field of the protection of human rights has its own history and faces new challenges. In this article the author firstly explains the mechanism as such, and then tries to find some constructive conclusions concerning the real impact of this kind of judicial activity. All the considerations are focused mainly on the experiences of the European Court of Human Rights and its influence on the other “partners” involved in the effective protection of the rights and freedoms of individuals. Some impressive examples of the practice in this regard are exposed. Nonetheless, in the author’s opinion the visible changes of contemporary sociological conditions, mainly in Europe, have their consequences in the approach of the European courts. Being the main “creators” of human rights standards, they can influence in a tangible way the position of domestic judicial organs. In such a situation an active judicial dialogue (both in its horizontal and vertical dimensions) seems to be even more necessary.

Author(s):  
Anna Młynarska-Sobaczewska ◽  
Katarzyna Kubuj ◽  
Aleksandra Mężykowska

Domestic legislation and international instruments designed for the protection of human rights provide for general clauses allowing limitations of rights and freedoms, e.g. public morals. A preliminary analysis of the case-law leads to the observation that both national courts and the European Court of Human Rights, when dealing with cases concerning sensitive moral issues, introduce varied argumentation methods allowing them to avoid making direct moral judgments and relying on the legitimate aim of protecting morality. In the article the Authors analyse selected judicial rulings in which moral issues may have played an important role. The scrutiny is done in order to identify and briefly discuss some examples of ways of argumentation used in the area under discussion by domestic and international courts. The identification of the courts’ methods of reasoning enables us in turn to make a preliminary assessment of the real role that the morality plays in the interpretation of human rights standards. It also constitutes a starting point for further consideration of the impact of ideological and cultural connotations on moral judgments, and on the establishment of a common moral standard to be applied in cases in which restriction on human rights and freedoms are considered.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence A. Groen

This note analyzes the functioning of the Russian judiciary on the basis of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments in the cases of OAO Neftianaia Kompaniia Iukos and three of the company’s former leading executives, Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovskii, Platon Leonidovich Lebedev and the late Vasilii Aleksanian. The analysis turns to the breaches by the Russian state of Articles 5 (right to liberty and security), 6 (right to a fair trial) and 18 (permissible restrictions to the rights guaranteed) of the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as established by the Court in the aforementioned cases, and the role of the Russian judiciary therein. In light of the fundamental flaws and structural nature characterizing the violations found, the conclusion is reached that the Russian judiciary (still) appears not to be entirely free from undue influence by the other branches of government.


2012 ◽  
pp. 608-642
Author(s):  
Lorenza Mola

The paper deals with the case law of the European Commission of Human Rights and of the European Court of Human Rights on the admissibility of individual applications on matters already submitted to other international bodies, under Art. 35, para. 2, letter b) ECHR. It examines the relevant procedural aspects and reviews how the Strasbourg bodies have interpreted the criteria set in this clause, which coordinates parallel international proceedings on the same matters, i.e. (i) the identity of parties, grounds and facts; (ii) the concluded or concurrent exam of the claim within other international mechanisms of protection of human rights open to individuals; and (iii) the equivalent character of these other proceedings in relation to the procedure before the European Court of Human Rights. It does so, particularly with respect to two recent decisions concerning cases where parallel proceedings on the same matter were brought, in the one case, by the same person before the Court as well as to the attention of the EU Commission, and, in the other case, by a legal person before the Court and by its shareholders before international investment arbitral tribunals. It highlights that the ‘reformed' Court has normally followed the prior Commission's case law but has also developed a more systematic and qualified approach to each admissibility criterion as well as to the overall objective of such coordination mechanism, in order both to avoid a plurality of international procedures on the same matter, on the one hand, and to afford the individual an international means of enforcement of her/his rights, on the other hand.


2017 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-524
Author(s):  
Christophe Deprez

While it goes undisputed that international criminal tribunals (icts) are, in general terms, bound to respect human rights standards, there is no consensus on whether their obligations should be identical in scope to those of national criminal tribunals. Most commentators seem to value the idea of equality in protection for international and domestic defendants alike. Yet, according to others, the human rights obligations of icts should be contextualised, that is, adapted to the specificities of international justice – and most critically to the gravity of international crimes. This article seeks to shed some light on this debate. It does so, in particular, by pointing out the intrinsic flexibility of human rights, and by drawing on the practice of the European Court of Human Rights with respect to gravity-based contextualism.


Author(s):  
ELISE HANSBURY ◽  
BERNARD DUHAIME

AbstractInternational institutions involved in the fight against corruption and in the protection of human rights have evolved in isolation since their inception. However, recent studies have shown the need to integrate, within anti-corruption policies, an approach oriented towards the protection of human rights. This need flows from the negative impacts that institutionalized practices of corruption have on the enjoyment of human rights. The American continent is no exception to this reality: it is, on the one hand, struggling with grave problems of corruption that have important repercussions for the protection of human rights in the region. It has, on the other hand, institutional and regulatory frameworks related to the fight against corruption and the protection of human rights, which have evolved in parallel. This article therefore assesses the extent to which Inter-American human rights standards may effectively contribute to improving anti-corruption policies and strategies on the continent.


2021 ◽  
pp. 19-23
Author(s):  
Oleksandr STOROZHENKO ◽  
Oksana PROHOROVA

Introduction. Ukraine signed Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms many years ago to provide effective protection of fundamental rights for every human that stands out on its' territory. This document is interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights. Practice of this Court must be used by national courts of Ukraine to match international human rights' standards. However, according to results of statistical research, application of that legal positions by national judges aren’t correct enough. The purpose of the paper is to identify and analyze problematic issues of application of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights by national courts of Ukraine. The authors also wanted to investigate the national practice of using the ECHR' legal positions and to provide recommendations to address shortcomings in such application. Results. The paper considers the issue of application of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights by the national courts of Ukraine. The legal nature of ECHR decisions' is studied. Authors are stick to the idea that judgments of ECHR aren’t classic precedent. There are authors' opinions about the problem of applying the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which has no official translation. They think that judges need to be taught professional English and French. So that they will be able to understand original text of judgments correct. There is also a thought about necessity of creating special database with Ukrainian translation of some judgments. Authors have also revealed problematic aspects of the application such as: erroneous, manipulative, formal references. There are some decisions of Ukrainian courts that have been analyzed by the authors. Erroneous references to decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in such cases have been determined. Authors stated that the reason of those defects is insufficient awareness of judges about the specifics of application legal positions of ECHR. Conclusion. According to the results of the work, the importance of education and training of future judges is stated. In addition, authors emphasized on necessity of further observations of this question.


ICL Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-84
Author(s):  
Eszter Polgari

Abstract The European Court of Human Rights needs to find a balance between upholding diversity (and respecting sovereignty through the margin of appreciation doctrine) on the one hand, and the aspiration to set universal human rights standards, on the other. Responses to these opposing forces are reflected in various doctrines and methods of interpretation, judicial choices that often predetermine the outcome of a case. Through examples taken from the LGBT rights jurisprudence, the article explores how the competing notions of European consensus (a conservative one and a dynamic one) relate to other techniques of interpretation, and how they influence the decision-making of the Court. The article explains that the Court applies the notion of consensus in an arbitrary manner. While the conservative modalities of the consensus argument appear to constrain the Court and allow considerable leeway for domestic authorities, the dynamic notions facilitate the development of European human rights standards, even if it may not be evidenced convincingly by the practices of the member states. The article argues that in its current state, without a foreseeable and disciplined methodology, the consensus inquiry is not capable of building a bridge between the margin of appreciation and the dynamic interpretation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-147
Author(s):  
Kevin Aquilina

This paper attempts to answer whether section 24(2) of the Maltese Official Secrets Act conforms, or is in conflict, with the right to a public hearing under section 39(3) of the Constitution of Malta and Article 10(1) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It reviews case law of the European Court of Human Rights on the right to a public hearing and concludes that Strasbourg case law has developed to allow restrictions upon this right even if they are not written down in this Convention. On the other hand, from a comparative exercise carried out with seven similar laws to the Maltese Official Secrets Act, it transpires that the Maltese provision is unique, does not find any counterpart in these seven laws surveyed and, worse still, appears to conflict with Article 6, paragraph 1, of the European Convention.


2021 ◽  
pp. 62-67
Author(s):  
Ivanna Maryniv ◽  
Anastasiya Yarmak

A problem statement. The development of biology and medicine has led to the formation of a new philosophical discipline and section of applied ethics - bioethics. In the legal field, this development can be traced to the emergence of a new group of human rights - somatic rights, relating to the human authority to dispose of his body intervention. The author`s aim is to analyze international legal acts that directly or indirectly relate to the legal regulation of somatic rights, as well as, the practice of protection of such rights in the European Court of Human Rights. Аnalysis of research and publications. Bioethical issues are increasingly attracting the attention of authors working in various fields of scientific knowledge, among them Ę J. Sudo, Di Bernardo J., Ramon L. Lucas, E. Zgrechcha, B. Yudin, A. Ivanyushkin, M. Chashchin, O. Lishchynska-Mylyan, S. Pustovit, I. Boyko and others. P. Witte, S. Stetsenko, I. Senyuta, R. Grevtsova, M. Medvedev, A. Abashidze, A. Solntsev, E. Tarasyants. In other way, Sedova, A. Ovsyuk, P. Tishchenko, G. Tereshkevich, O. Kashintseva explore the legal problems of bioethics, in particular, their international legal aspects. The main text. The article examines how bioethical, biomedical and somatic rights are enshrined in the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity in the Use of Biological and Medical Achievements 1997: the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (Oviedo Convention). The case law of the European Court of Human Rights examines the main groups of violated rights of applicants, which are indirectly related to the protection of bioethical, biomedical and somatic rights, namely: violations of reproductive human rights (right to legal abortion, right to give birth at home), violation of consent to medical examination or treatment, violation of the rights of HIV-infected / serious diseases. Two main features of the introduction of bioethical standards in lawmaking are considered: ensuring a balance of interests (holism against individualism) and the application of the precautionary principle as one of the ethical principles. Conclusions. Despite the fact that the right to health refers to international human rights standards, the implementation of which is carried out at both national and international levels, at present, neither at the universal level nor at the regional level. levels do not create specialized international legal mechanisms for the protection of biomedical rights. In most cases, these rights are protected by recourse to the European Court of Human Rights for finding violations of the relevant articles of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: the right to life, the prohibition of torture, and privacy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
Oleh Pankevych ◽  

The article is devoted to the retrospective analysis of some aspects of the application and implementation of European human rights standards in the constitutional proceedings of Ukraine. It is substantiated that the domestic body of constitutional jurisdiction, realizing its role as an instrument for implementing European human rights standards in national legal practice, actively uses the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the practice of the Strasbourg Court as arguments to motivate its decisions. In the future, not only the formal but also the substantive aspect of the use of the Convention and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the acts of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine certainly needs special attention. The following analysis will allow to reveal the "quality" of the reference to these international sources and the relevance of references to them. In the motivating part of its decisions, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine also uses as an additional argumentation a wide range of other international legal acts and decisions of other international and foreign judicial institutions. This aspect of the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine obviously deserves to be the subject of our further research. Based on the validity of our conclusion in previous publications that the main philosophical basis of modern decisions of the Strasbourg Court are the postulates of liberal communitarianism as a result of a kind of convergence of liberal and communitarian ideologues, we believe that, in turn, these postulates can�t be found in the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (when it uses the provisions of the Convention and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights for additional argumentation of its own legal positions). At the same time, this hypothesis still needs to be thoroughly proved in the following special research.


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