The Ties that Bind: The Environment, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Rule of Law

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole W. Pedersen
Author(s):  
Egidijus Küris

Western legal tradition gave the birth to the concept of the rule of law. Legal theory and constitutional justice significantly contributed to the crystallisation of its standards and to moving into the direction of the common concept of the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights uses this concept as an interpretative tool, the extension of which is the quality of the law doctrine, which encompasses concrete requirements for the law under examination in this Court, such as prospectivity of law, its foreseeability, clarity etc. The author of the article, former judge of the Lithuanian Constitutional Court and currently the judge of the European Court of Human Rights, examines how the latter court has gradually intensified (not always consistently) its reliance on the rule of law as a general principle, inherent in all the Articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, to the extent that in some of its judgments it concentrates not anymore on the factual situation of an individual applicant, but, first and foremost, on the examination of the quality of the law. The trend is that, having found the quality of the applicable law to be insufficient, the Court considers that the mere existence of contested legislation amounts to an unjustifiable interference into a respective right and finds a violation of respective provisions of the Convention. This is an indication of the Court’s progressing self-approximation to constitutional courts, which are called to exercise abstract norm-control.La tradición occidental alumbró la noción del Estado de Derecho. La teoría del Derecho y la Justicia Constitucional han contribuido decisivamente a la cristalización de sus estándares, ayudando a conformar un acervo común en torno al mismo. El Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos emplea la noción de Estado de Derecho como una herramienta interpretativa, fundamentalmente centrada en la doctrina de la calidad de la ley, que implica requisitos concretos que exige el Tribunal tales como la claridad, la previsibilidad, y la certeza en la redacción y aplicación de la norma. El autor, en la actualidad Juez del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos y anterior Magistrado del Tribunal Constitucional de Lituania, examina cómo el primero ha intensificado gradualmente (no siempre de forma igual de consistente) su confianza en el Estado de Derecho como principio general, inherente a todos los preceptos que forman el Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos, hasta el punto de que en algunas de sus resoluciones se concentra no tanto en la situación de hecho del demandante individual sino, sobre todo y ante todo, en el examen de esa calidad de la ley. La tendencia del Tribunal es a considerar que, si observa que la ley no goza de calidad suficiente, la mera existencia de la legislación discutida supone una interferencia injustificable dentro del derecho en cuestión y declara la violación del precepto correspondiente del Convenio. Esto implica el acercamiento progresivo del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos a los Tribunales Constitucionales, quienes tienen encargado el control en abstracto de la norma legal.


Author(s):  
David Harris ◽  
Michael O’Boyle ◽  
Ed Bates ◽  
Carla Buckley

This chapter discusses Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which incorporates the principle of legality, by which, in the context of criminal law, a person should only be convicted and punished on a basis of law. Article 7 prohibits the retroactive application of criminal offences and of sentences imposed for them. The guarantee in Article 7 is an essential element of the rule of law, and has as its object and purpose the provision of effective safeguards against arbitrary conviction and punishment. An exception is allowed for offences that were contrary to general principles of law recognized by civilized nations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (2021) ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
Igor COBAN ◽  

Enforcement is a fundamental institution of civil procedural law and an essential component of justice in a state governed by the rule of law. Enforcement in the light of the European Convention on Human Rights is an integral part of the „right to a fair trial”. The mere recognition of the right or the obligation of the debtor to restore the violated or contested right is often not enough. The legislator of the Republic of Moldova modernized the enforcement system by reforming it to the private system of enforcement of civil court documents. The object of this study is the particularities of the procedure for contesting the acts of the bailiff according to the legislation of the Republic of Moldova.


2015 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 330-343
Author(s):  
Catherine Elliott

The Crime and Courts Act 2013 has amended s. 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 on the amount of force a person can use in self-defence. The amended provision poses a dilemma for the courts: it states that only reasonable force can be used by a householder against a trespasser, but adds that force is unreasonable if it is grossly disproportionate. Until now, the courts have treated reasonable force and proportionate force as synonyms. This article suggests that the amended s. 76 should be interpreted to comply with the rule of law, incorporating the idea of equality before the law and legality. The courts should respect the traditional common law concept of reasonableness which is an impartial, objective concept that plays an important role across the whole of the criminal legal system. In addition, the article points out that the Act must be interpreted, where possible, in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights to avoid the problems that arose with the defence of lawful chastisement.


2021 ◽  
pp. 130-146
Author(s):  
Howard Davis

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, discussion points and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter discusses the various concepts that pervade the way the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is interpreted and, therefore, how Convention rights under the HRA are applied. The chapter considers the internal and external sources used to interpret the text. It goes on to consider the concepts that the European Court of Human Rights has developed when applying the Convention. In particular the ‘living instrument’ doctrine, the idea of the rule of law, the margin of appreciation, proportionality, and democracy (in a Convention context) are considered and explored.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 299
Author(s):  
Ruzhdi Jashari

Rule of law, human rights, freedoms, and security; are the three main pillars to the new trend of global developments, especially in the development of democratic values, where the protection of individual freedoms is among the fundamental principles that have data protection as the center point. In the years 2015-2016 we have seen the major cases of confrontation regarding the wiretapping to that point as the intervention even in the system of the "US election campaign by the Russian hackers", then sending of Macedonia to the "early elections, due to the extraction and publication of wiretaps by Zaev", the review of the "Safe Harbor" Agreement, of the EU and the US regarding the transfer of personal data during free "transatlantic" trade among EU and USA, etc. In this time of globalization, and developments of major movements is been said: "no home", "no time", "no limit", by digitized devices and social networks, privacy of the individual is excessively violated through abuse of personal data, personal security is violated and security of the systems vital to society. Therefore, this way, the national security of a country is been violated and endangered as well. Therefore, the development of institutions for protection of personal data, their independence and empowerment are of particular importance due to the vital interests of the country; where security, justice and freedom have a leading role in the development of a free and democratic society, where the individual human rights and freedoms, have a main place in modern developments of our time, in the society with the rule of law and the diversity of values. Freedoms and human rights, data and privacy protection; according to the European Convention of freedoms and human rights and the 108 Convention of the protection of personal data in automated processing, even though Kosovo has still not signed them. These rights are guaranteed by the constitution. On May 26, 2018 New Rules for the Protection of Personal Data of the EC and the European Union, will be no binding power for all EU countries. The entire legal measures of protection of personal data of the new Rules of PPD, should be forwarded to legislation interior PPD of EU member states and the EC and those who are already signatories to Convention 108 of PPD during the automatic processing of personal data. Among other things, we will give our assessments in question, where Kosovo really stands in this direction, with its commitment and aspirations for integration into European institutions and mechanisms.


Author(s):  
Tatjana Gerginova

Security system of each country constitute the internationallegal documents and acts as well as national security that allow system isorganized as a part of the state apparatus, which system will to enable tomake possible the safety and independence of other states, as well as thelaw protection of basic human rights and freedoms. International documentsfor protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as legalacts of any national state determines the universal significance of humanrights and freedoms, whose observance is an important factor of peace,justice and security necessary to ensure the development of friendly relationsand cooperation among states, but also a precondition for progress on theestablishment of lasting peace, security, justice and cooperation in Europe. Fullrespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the development ofsocieties based on pluralistic democracy and the rule of law are prerequisitesfor progress in ensuring lasting peace, security, justice and cooperation inEurope. The Treaty establishing the European Union, signed in Maastricht in1992 stipulates that respect for human rights is one of the main prerequisitesfor membership in the European Union and the guarantees of human rightsestablished and guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights,are respected by Union as general principles of Union law. One of the mainobjectives of the common foreign and security policy of the Member States ofthe European Union is the development of democracy and the rule of law andrespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Republic of Macedoniain the processes of democratization incorporate the recommendations of theCouncil of Europe and other international institutions in finding appropriateeffective mechanisms by which holders of public authority will exerciseits powers with respect for and protection of human rights. Respect andprotection of human rights legislation in line with international standards inthis area, should be a primary task of each authority responsible for enforcingthe law.


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