The Impact of the ECHR on Democratic Change in Central and Eastern Europe

The Impact of the ECHR on Democratic Change in Central and Eastern Europe PDF Author: Iulia Motoc
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316558835
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 559

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Book Description
High hopes were placed in the ability of the European Convention and the Court of Human Rights to help realise fundamental freedoms and civil and political rights in the post-communist countries. This book explores the effects of the Strasbourg human rights system on the domestic law, politics and reality of the new member states. With contributions by past and present judges of the European Court of Human Rights and assorted constitutional courts, this book provides an insider view of the relationship between Central and Eastern European states and the ECHR, and examines the fundamental role played by the ECHR in the process of democratisation, particularly the areas of the right to liberty, the right to propriety, freedom of expression, and minorities' rights.

The Impact of the ECHR on Democratic Change in Central and Eastern Europe

The Impact of the ECHR on Democratic Change in Central and Eastern Europe PDF Author: Iulia Motoc
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316558835
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 559

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Book Description
High hopes were placed in the ability of the European Convention and the Court of Human Rights to help realise fundamental freedoms and civil and political rights in the post-communist countries. This book explores the effects of the Strasbourg human rights system on the domestic law, politics and reality of the new member states. With contributions by past and present judges of the European Court of Human Rights and assorted constitutional courts, this book provides an insider view of the relationship between Central and Eastern European states and the ECHR, and examines the fundamental role played by the ECHR in the process of democratisation, particularly the areas of the right to liberty, the right to propriety, freedom of expression, and minorities' rights.

Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights in states parties

Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights in states parties PDF Author: Council of Europe
Publisher: Council of Europe
ISBN: 9287183864
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
What positive impact has the European Convention on Human Rights had upon states parties to the Convention? The examples presented in this publication show that the effects of the Convention and its case law extend to all areas of life. They include, but are not limited to, individuals’ access to justice, the prohibition of discrimination, property rights, family law issues such as custody rights, the prevention and punishment of acts of torture, the protection of victims of domestic violence, the privacy of individuals in their correspondence and sexual relations, and the protection of religious freedoms and freedoms of expression and association. This publication contains selected examples from all 47 states parties to the Convention that illustrate how the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms has been strengthened at the domestic level thanks to the Convention and the Strasbourg Court’s case law.

Protecting the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights

Protecting the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights PDF Author: Bychawska-Siniarska, Dominika
Publisher: Council of Europe
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
European Convention on Human Rights – Article 10 – Freedom of expression 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises. 2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary. In the context of an effective democracy and respect for human rights mentioned in the Preamble to the European Convention on Human Rights, freedom of expression is not only important in its own right, but it also plays a central part in the protection of other rights under the Convention. Without a broad guarantee of the right to freedom of expression protected by independent and impartial courts, there is no free country, there is no democracy. This general proposition is undeniable. This handbook is a practical tool for legal professionals from Council of Europe member states who wish to strengthen their skills in applying the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in their daily work.

The Right to Political Participation

The Right to Political Participation PDF Author: Gabriella Citroni
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000517926
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
This book provides a comparative analysis of how judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) affect political participation and electoral justice at the national level. Looking at specific countries, the work analyses the legal impact the implementation of the ECtHR and the IACtHR judgments has, with a specific focus on cases in which the regional court concerned uses the “democratic argument,” that is, an argument related to democracy and political rights. The reasoning is that, although democracy is a much wider concept, judgments concerning violations of political rights and electoral justice provide reliable indicators to assess the status and sustainability of democracy in a State. Moreover, the analysis of the violations of political rights and electoral justice allows an in-depth comparison between the two regional human rights systems. Mindful of the broader scope of the fall-out generated by the non-implementation of judgments, including in socio-economic terms, the book includes a section exploring how judgments issued by the ECtHR and the IACtHR affect voters’ participation in the countries under their jurisdiction. To this end, an original dataset including the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe and the 20 countries which recognised the adjudicatory jurisdiction of the IACtHR is built. Multidisciplinary in aim and scope of analysis, the book will be an invaluable resource for researchers, academics, and policy-makers working in the areas of constitutional law, international human rights law, and political economy.

Hate Speech and Human Rights in Eastern Europe

Hate Speech and Human Rights in Eastern Europe PDF Author: Viera Pejchal
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000057690
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Hate Speech and Human Rights. Democracies need to understand these terms to properly adapt their legal frameworks. Regulation of hate speech exposes underlining and sometimes invisible societal values such as security and public order, equality and non-discrimination, human dignity, and other democratic vital interests. The spread of hatred and hate speech has intensified in many corners of the world over the last decade and its regulation presents a conundrum for many democracies. This book presents a three-prong theory describing three different but complementary models of hate speech regulation which allows stakeholders to better address this phenomenon. It examines international and national legal frameworks and related case law as well as pertinent scholarly literature review to highlight this development. After a period of an absence of free speech during communism, post-communist democracies have sought to build a framework for the exercise of free speech while protecting public goods such as liberty, equality and human dignity. The three-prong theory is applied to identify public goods and values underlining the regulation of hate speech in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, two countries that share a political, sociological, and legal history, as an example of the differing approaches to hate speech regulation in post-communist societies due to divergent social values, despite identical legal frameworks. This book will be of great interest to scholars of human rights law, lawyers, judges, government, NGOs, media and anyone who would like to understand values that underpin hate speech regulations which reflect values that society cherishes the most.

Great Debates on the European Convention on Human Rights

Great Debates on the European Convention on Human Rights PDF Author: Fiona de Londras
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1509958657
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
This engaging textbook provides a critical analysis of the legitimacy and effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights and its practical operation. In a succinct way, the book investigates questions around the legitimacy of how the European Court of Human Rights develops its law, the obligations of states to comply with its judgments, the adequacy of the Convention in securing basic goods, and the effectiveness of the system in protecting rights 'in the real world'. It assesses some under-explored areas of the Convention that are often overlooked. Presenting a number of debates about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the system in a provocative and critical style, this book encourages debate, discussion, and self-reflection on how, when and why the Convention protects human rights in Europe. An ideal text for Law students at English and Welsh universities and higher education institutions taking a module in The European Convention on Human Rights (LLB or LLM level), and for GDL/CPE students and those taking the postgraduate LPC training course.

Compliance with Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Compliance with Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights PDF Author: Ramute Remezaite
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004538216
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
What does compliance with judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) look like in states on the spectrum of democratisation? This work provides an in-depth investigation of three such states—Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia— in the wider context of the growing 'implementation crisis' in Europe, and does so through a combined lens of theoretical insights and rich empirical data. The book offers a detailed analysis of the domestic contexts varying from democratising to increasingly authoritarian tendencies, which shape the states’ compliance behaviour, and discusses why and how such states comply with human rights judgments. It puts particular focus on ‘contested’ compliance as a new form of compliance behaviour involving states’ acting in ‘bad faith’ and argues for a revival of the concept of partial compliance. The wider impact that ECtHR judgments have in states on the spectrum of democratisation is also explored.

The Impact of European Institutions on the Rule of Law and Democracy

The Impact of European Institutions on the Rule of Law and Democracy PDF Author: Matej Avbelj
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1509915044
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
Since 2010 the European Union has been plagued by crises of democracy and the rule of law, which have been spreading from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), catching many by surprise. This book argues that the professed success of the 2004 big bang enlargement mirrored the Potemkin villages erected in the new Member States on their accession to Europe. Slovenia is a prime example. Since its independence and throughout the accession process, Slovenia has been portrayed as the poster child of the 'New Europe'. This book claims that the widely shared narrative of the Slovenian EU dream is a myth. In many ways, Slovenia has fared even worse than its contemporary, constitutionally-backsliding, CEE counterparts. The book's discussion of the depth and breadth of the democratic crises in Slovenia should contribute to a critical intellectual awakening and better comprehension of the real causes of the present crises across the other CEE Member States, which threaten the viability of the EU and Council of Europe projects. It is only on the basis of this improved understanding that the crises can be appropriately addressed at national, transnational and supranational levels.

Domestic Judicial Treatment of European Court of Human Rights Case Law

Domestic Judicial Treatment of European Court of Human Rights Case Law PDF Author: David Kosař
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000036596
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
The European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) suffers from the burgeoning caseload and challenges to its authority. This two-pronged crisis undermines the ECtHR’s legitimacy and consequently the functioning of the whole European human rights regime. Domestic courts can serve as welcome allies of the Strasbourg Court. They have a potential to diffuse Convention norms domestically, and therefore prevent and filter many potential human rights violations. Yet, we know very little about how domestic courts actually treat the Strasbourg Court’s rulings. This book brings unique empirical findings on how often, how and with what consequences domestic judges work with the ECtHR’s case law. It moves beyond the narrow concept of compliance and develops a new three-level methodology for analysing the role played by domestic courts in the implementation of ECtHR case law. Moreover, using the example of Czechia, it shifts the attention from Western countries to a more volatile Central and Eastern European region, which has recently witnessed democratic backsliding and backlash against international checks on human rights and the rule of law standards. Looking at a wider social and legal context, this book identifies factors helping transitional countries to adapt to regional human rights regimes. The work will be an essential resource for students, academics and policy-makers working in the areas of Constitutional law, Politics and Human Rights law. Its global appeal is enhanced by the methodological framework which is applicable in other international systems.

Good Administration and the Council of Europe

Good Administration and the Council of Europe PDF Author: Ulrich Stelkens
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192605941
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1183

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Book Description
Good Administration and the Council of Europe: Law, Principles, and Effectiveness examines the existence and effectiveness of written and unwritten standards of good administration developed within the framework of the Council of Europe (CoE) and in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. These standards - called 'pan- European general principles of good administration' - cover the entire range of general organizational, procedural, and substantive legal institutions meant to ensure a democratically legitimized, open, and transparent administration respecting the rule of law. They are about the 'limiting function' of administrative law: its function to protect individuals from arbitrary power, to legitimize administrative action, and to combat corruption. This book analyses the sources and functions of the pan-European general principles of good administration and seeks to uncover how deeply they are rooted in the domestic legal systems of the CoE Member States. It comprises 28 country reports dedicated to an in-depth exploration of the impact of these standards on the national legal systems of the Member States written by respective experts on these systems. It argues that the pan-European general principles of good administration lead to a certain harmonization of the legal orders of the Member States with regard to the limiting function of administrative law despite the many fundamental differences between their administrative and legal systems. It comes to the further conclusion that the pan-European general principles of good administration can be considered as a concretization of the founding values of the CoE and describes the 'administrative law obligations' a Member State entered into when joining the CoE.