A Comparative Study of the Monitoring Mechanisms and the Important Institutional Frameworks for Human Rights Protection within the Council of Europe, the CSCE and the European Community

1993 ◽  
pp. 93-119
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Tabernacka

The ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in Poland was preceded by a heated debate. From the very beginning it was be object of political battles between the conservative and liberal circles. Culturally and socially conditioned position of women has influenced its operation and the scope of its implementation. The Convention is a universally binding tool which guarantees the protection of human rights in events of violence against the woman and children. The case of this Convention in Poland proofs the existence of a universal European understanding of human rights protection standards. The Convention thus has a protective function not only for individuals but also, in a broader context, for the common European cultural identity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-69
Author(s):  
Serhiy MELENKO ◽  
◽  
Dan PARANYUK ◽  

Based on the methodology of performing axiological and logical-gnoseological analysis of juridically significant factors, the article under discussion presents a partial investigation of the practical application of one of the most fundamental principles of state functioning in the field of human rights protection. The object of investigation in the paper is the way the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) perceives, understands and interprets the principle of Good Governance in the course of implementing it in Court’s activities. The precedents, formulated and adopted by the ECHR frequently acquire the status of legal sources for the member states of the Council of Europe. Therefore, the judiciary bodies of these countries have to rely in their practice on the conclusions, the ECHR came to in the course of considering certain cases. Qualitively equal understanding and application of the above decisions is a cornerstone in forming a common European legal space, as well as plays a leading role in the field of human rights protection, guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 (hereinafter - the Convention) (Council of Europe, 1950). The principle of Good Governance is a complex notion. It directly or indirectly regards the rights and interests of both individuals (ensuring them certain rights and freedoms in a vast number of articles of the Convention) and social groups. This requires a complex analysis of the principle in both theoretical and practical aspects of its definition and application. Relying on the methodology of profound analysis of the axiological component of a certain legal phenomenon, like the content of some decisions of the Strasbourg Court, the authors of the article attempt to practically trace the implementation of the principle of Good Governance in the course of administering justice in Ukraine, as a member state of the Council of Europe. Therefore, the article under studies deals with the specifics of practical application of the principle of Good Governance in the ECHR activities, as well as with using precedent experience in the system of administrative judiciary of Ukraine.


2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 443-476
Author(s):  
Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou ◽  
Donal K Coffey

AbstractThe effectiveness and legitimacy of the Council of Europe can be undermined by the actions of Member States which fail to comply with their international law obligations of genuine cooperation with the organization. This article first briefly examines the practice of international organizations in applying sanctions such as expulsion and suspension to their members. It then explains why it is necessary to discuss potential sanctions that the Council can apply in the context of current controversies involving the Council and Member States. It will be argued that the scale and intensity of challenges distinguish the current state of affairs from other ‘problematic’ periods in the Council's history. It proceeds to outline the considerations that should be taken into account in deciding whether a Member State should be suspended or expelled. These considerations include the implications of sanctions on the legitimacy of the Council of Europe, the level of human rights protection and the financial stability of the organization.


2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kundai Sithole

This paper examines the importance of human rights protection – in particular the European Convention on Human Rights – to the Council of Europe's survival as a political authority. Its underlying premise is that the proliferation of regional organisations in Europe in post-war Europe, and the creation of the Communities in 1958, contributed to a loss of a sense of purpose as to the Council of Europe's role in post-war Europe. Initial attempts to widen the scope of its political authority in relation to the Member States and other regional organisations were unsuccessful. It was, therefore, necessary for the Council of Europe to consolidate its existing mandate in ensuring the region's democratic security through human rights protection. Thus, led by its Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe institutions have, since 1949, provided the Member States with the necessary regional fora for examining and promulgating regional human rights legislation, such as the European Convention on Human Rights and its two additional protocols abolishing the death penalty.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Küchler

Conflicts in Eastern Ukraine, on the Crimean Peninsula, and in the Balkans and the Caucasus – the Council of Europe system is in crisis, which has led to the renaissance of a long-forgotten instrument of European human rights protection: the interstate complaint procedure under art. 33 of the ECHR. It allows any contracting state as a ‘collective guarantor of the Convention’ (preamble) to refer any alleged breach of the ECHR to its court. After decades of indifference towards human rights violations in other European states, art. 33 of the ECHR became more commonly used after the turn of the millennium. However, it has primarily been misused as a dispute resolution mechanism, instead of its potential being exploited to solve systemic problems concerning the realisation of human rights. Therefore, this study calls for the renaissance of the interstate complaint procedure to be reframed in order for it to contribute to one of humankind’s goals: the effective enforcement of human rights around the globe.


Author(s):  
Tudor Tănăsescu

European protection of national minorities and the rights of persons belonging totheir identity is part of human rights protection system developed at the universal level underthe United Nation respectively regionally in the Council of Europe and other Europeaninstitutions. Examined the international legal framework (adopted in the Council of Europe),as in the field and others with official regulations (universal or regional) that concernprotection of minorities, “does not authorize any activity that is contrary to fundamentalprinciples of international law, especially that of sovereignty, territorial integrity andpolitical independence of states”.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-109
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kużelewska

Abstract The Baltic States – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – are democratic states of law that respect human rights. As members of the Council of Europe, they implemented into domestic law the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (known as the European Convention on Human Rights) – an international document for the universal protection of human rights adopted by the Council of Europe. The aim of the paper is to analyze whether and to what extent did Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian citizens file individual complaints to the European Court of Human Rights over the past thirteen years (2006–2018). The paper is to answer the question if the Baltic Sates’ systems of human rights protection are effective. One of the indicators of effectiveness is the number of complaints brought from the Baltic States to the ECtHR in relation to the number of inhabitants and also in comparison with the total number of complaints from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe as whole. The analysis will cover statistics on the number of judgments in Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian cases before the Court in Strasbourg issued between 2006 and 2018. This will be helpful in determining the degree and the type of violations by the Baltic States of the human rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.


Author(s):  
E.V. Skurko

The article analyzes contemporary problems of the fight against terrorism in Europe in the context of human rights protection. The human rights issues acquired a new dimension after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States, which fundamentally changed the attitude towards terrorism and the fight against it around the world. Today, the European perspective on the protection of human rights in the context of the fight against terrorism remains within the framework of the UN approaches and is mainly developed in such international regional organizations as the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the European Union (EU) system. The European states have undertaken to implement all necessary measures to protect human rights and freedoms, including – and especially – against terrorist acts. All measures taken in the fight against terrorism in Europe should be based on the observance of human rights, as well as the rule of law, including elimination of all forms of arbitrariness and discrimination, and be subject to supervisory procedures. The latest counter-terrorism strategies in Europe are based on the principles of inclusiveness and assume that a welcoming society in which the rights of everyone are fully respected is a society where terrorism cannot find a place and take root, and it will be more difficult for potential terrorists to be radicalized and recruited. However, in tactical terms, the emphasis in the fight against terrorism is often made on strengthening control over individuals, which causes concerns of the society and human rights activists. In contemporary conditions, the fight against terrorism requires additional state guarantees, investments in social cohesion, education, and the development of relationships, so that everyone can feel that their personality is respected and that the society fully accepts them.


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