Immunities and the right of access to court under the European Convention on Human Rights (in ‘Human rights survey 2002’, pHR/33-HR/46)

This issue is devoted entirely to the subject of human rights.

Abstract:

In the past year, the jurisprudence on the conflict between immunities and the right of access to court under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights has developed considerably. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg delivered five judgments, both on the liability of British public authorities and on state immunity. With an additional case on parliamentary immunity still pending, there appears to be a current trend to challenge immunities under the Convention. This article aims to investigate the recent case law of the Strasbourg Court in relation to this matter.