The European Court Of Human Rights And Its Discontents. Turning Criticism into Strength

The European Court of Human Rights has long been part of the most advanced human rights regime in the world. However, the Court has increasingly drawn criticism, with questions raised about its legitimacy and backlog of cases. This book for the first time brings together the critics of the Court and its proponents to debate these issues. The result is a collection which reflects balanced perspectives on the Court’s successes and challenges.

Judges, academics and policymakers engage constructively with the Court’s criticism, developing novel pathways and strategies for the Court to adopt to increase its legitimacy, to amend procedures to reduce the backlog of applications, to improve dialogue with national authorities and courts, and to ensure compliance by member States. The solutions presented seek to ensure the Court’s relevance and impact into the future and to promote the effective protection of human rights across Europe.

Containing a mix of high-profile contributors from across Council of Europe member States, this book will appeal to human rights professionals, European policymakers and politicians, law and politics academics and students as well as human rights NGOs.

Contents:

Foreword - H.E. Ivo Opstelten

1. Introduction: The Need for Both International and National Protection of Human Rights – The European Challenge - Anthony Bradley

2. Criticism and Case-overload: Comments on the Future of the European Court of Human Rights - Luzius Wildhaber

3. The European Court of Human Rights and its Ever-growing Caseload: Preserving the Mission of the Court While Ensuring the Viability of the Individual Petition System - Paul Mahoney

4. Is the European Court of Human Rights on a Slippery Slope? - Marc Bossuyt

5. Why Much of the Criticism of the European Court of Human Rights is Unfounded - Egbert Myjer

6. Challenges Facing the European Court of Human Rights: Fragmentation of the International Order, Division in Europe and the Right to Individual Petition - Lucian Bojin

7. Britain Must Defy the European Court of Human Rights on Prisoner Voting as Strasbourg is Exceeding its Authority -
David Davis

8. More Human Rights than Court: Why the Legitimacy of the European Court of Human Rights is in Need of Repair and How it Can be Done - Tom Zwart

9. The Vital Relationship between the European Court of Human Rights and National Courts - Wilhelmina Thomassen

10. The Need for Dialogue between National Courts and the European Court of Human Rights - Lord Kerr

11. Interaction between the European Court of Human Rights and Member States: European Consensus, Advisory Opinions and the Question of Legitimacy - Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou

12. Amicus Curiae as a Means to Reinforce the Legitimacy of the European Court of Human Rights - Nicole Bürli

13. How to Improve the Results of a Reluctant Player: The Case of Russia and the European Convention on Human Rights - Anton Burkov

14. Solutions for the European Court of Human Rights: The Amicus Curiae Project - Janneke Gerards and Ashley Terlouw

15. An All-European Conversation: Promoting a Common Understanding of European Human Rights - András Sajó

16. Conclusion: The European Convention on Human Rights as a Common European Endeavour - Julie Fraser

Index