Friday 24 October 2014

New ECHR Readings

This Autumn presents a remarkable range of ECHR-related publications in academic journals and books. Please find below an extensive selection:

The newest issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice (Vol. 12, no. 4, 2014) includes:

* Helen Keller and Corina Heri, 'Enforced Disappearance and the European Court of Human Rights: A ‘Wall of Silence’, Fact-Finding Difficulties and States as ‘Subversive Objectors’'
* Corina Heri, 'Enforced Disappearance and the European Court of Human Rights’ ratione temporis Jurisdiction: A Discussion of Temporal Elements in Janowiec and Others v. Russia'

*  Chimène I. Keitner, 'Jones and Others v. United Kingdom', International Legal Materials (Vol. 53, no. 3, 2014). 

* Susana Sanz Caballero, 'How Could It Go So Wrong? Reformatio in Peius before the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR in the Case Janowiec and Others v. Russia (or Polish Collective Memory Deceived in Strasbourg)', Polish Yearbook of International Law, vol. 33 (2013) pp. 259-278.  

* M. Rohan, 'Refugee family reunification rights: a basis in the European Court of Human Rights' family 
reunification jurisprudence', Chicago Journal of International Law, vol. 15, no. 1 (2014) pp. 347-375.

* K. Dzehtsiarou and D. Coffey, 'Legitimacy and independence of international tribunals: an analysis of the European Court of Human Rights', Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, vol. 37, no. 2 (2014) pp. 271-322. 

* E. Brems, 'Face veil bans in the European Court of Human Rights: the importance of empirical findings', Journal of Law and Policy, vol. 22, no. 2 (2013/14) pp. 517-552.

* D. Fenwick, ‘Abortion jurisprudence’ at Strasbourg: deferential, avoidant and normatively neutral?',  Legal Studies, vol. 34, no. 2 (2014) pp. 214-241.

* K. Dzehtsiarou and N. O'Meara, 'Advisory jurisdiction and the European Court of Human Rights: a magic bullet for dialogue and docket-control?', Legal Studies, vol. 34, no. 3 (2014) pp. 444-468.

* C. Ryngaert, 'Jones v United Kingdom: the European Court of Human Rights restricts individual accountability for torture', Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, vol. 30, no. 79 (2014) pp. 47-50.

* Uladzislau Belavusau, 'Experts in hate speech cases: Towards a higher standard of proof in Strasbourg?', in: Lukasz Gruszczynski and Wouter Werner (eds.), Deference in International Courts and Tribunals

The new issue of the New Journal of European Criminal Law (vol. 5, no. 2, 2014) includes:

* E. Thoonen and W. Duijst, 'Suicide in detention in the light of the Human Rights Convention', pp. 
121-148.
* T. Decaigny, 'Inquisitorial and adversarial expert examinations in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights', pp. 149-166.
* J. Boucht, 'Civil asset forfeiture and the presumption of innocence under Article 6(2) ECHR', pp. 221-255.

New articles in the online International Journal on Human Rights include:

Ronagh J.A. McQuigg, ’The European Court of Human Rights and domestic violence: Valiuliene v. Lithuania’,
* Gregor Puppinck and Claire De La Hougue, ‘The right to assisted suicide in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights’.

Finally, please find in the menu on the right the link to a European-wide prize question, which is set up by the network of European Young Academies of Sciences - an exciting quest to think creatively about the future of Europe. Click on the image for more information - everyone is welcome to participate! I have the honor of serving in the jury.

Friday 17 October 2014

ECHR Articles in Newest NQHR

The newest issue (no. 3 of 2014) of SIM's own Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights includes no less than three ECHR-related contributions: two articles and the column are dedicated to the ECHR:

* Column:  Lourdes Peroni, 'On Religious and Cultural Equality in European Human Rights Convention Law'

And the two articles:

* Linos-Alexander Sicilianos, 'The Involvement of the European Court of Human Rights in the Implementation of its Judgments: Recent Developments under Article 46 ECHR'

* Hubert Smekal and Katarína Šipulová, 'DH v Czech Republic Six Years Later: On the Power of an International Human Rights Court to Push through Systemic Change'

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Seminar on ECHR National Counter-Dynamics

On 30 and 31 October the universities of Antwerp and Leuven are co-organising a seminar entitled 'Shifting the Convention System: Counter-dynamics at the National Level' in Antwerp. According to the organisers, the seminar "aims to map out to what extent criticism on the European Court of Human Rights and its case law is being translated into counter-dynamics at the political or judicial level. The focus is not solely put on countries that are known to have highly critical voices. Rather, the seminar will explore whether the translation of criticism into (the demand for) concrete changes in the dynamics between national fundamental rights protection and the Convention system is a pan-European reality or merely limited to a few countries. To enable comparison, the country reports presented at the seminar are based on a questionnaire drafted by the organisers." A very interesting endeavour as we mostly only hear about criticism in a few countries or from a few voices. This makes this mapping exercise all the more useful, to avoid over- or under-estimation the problem. This is the programme of the seminar:

Programme Thursday 30 October 2014

13.30 Registration
13.50 Welcome address by Patricia Popelier (UAntwerp)

Session 1: Shifting dynamics (Chair: Patricia Popelier)
14.00 Sarah Lambrecht (UAntwerp & Belgian Constitutional Court)
Overarching Strategies
14.20 Eva Brems (UGent)
The Impact of Counter-dynamics on the Legitimacy of the ECtHR
14.40 Koen Lemmens (KULeuven)
Criticising the ECtHR or Misunderstanding the Dynamics of Human Rights Protection?
15.00 Discussion
15.30 Coffee break

Session 2: Strong Voices of Criticism vs Strasbourg Friendly Voices
(Chair: Judge Paul Lemmens)
15.50 Roger Masterman (University of Durham) - UK
16.10 Tilmann Altwicker (University of Basel) - Switzerland
16.30 Janneke Gerards (Radboud University Nijmegen) - Netherlands
16.50 Patricia Popelier (UAntwerp) - Belgium
17.10 Discussion
17.40 Reception
19.00 Conference dinner with speakers

Programme Friday 31 October 2014

Session 3: Strong Judicial Review Mandate vs Weak Judicial Review Mandate
(Chair: Catherine Van de Heyning)
9.15 Katharina Pabel (Johannes Kepler University of Linz) - Germany
9.35 Giuseppe Martinico (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna) - Italy
9.55 Anna-Sara Lind (Uppsala University) - Sweden
10.15 Discussion
10.45 Coffee break

Session 4: Criticism on the ECtHR, an East and Central-European Perspective
(Chair: Koen Lemmens)
11.05 Joseph Marko (University of Graz) - Bosnia and Herzegovina
11.25 Lubomir Majercik (Czech Constitutional Court) - Czech Republic
11.45 Armen Mazmanyan (Center for Constitutional Studies Yerevan) - Russia
12.05 Discussion
12.35 Closing words by Catherine Van de Heyning (UAntwerp)
12.50 Lunch

For information on how to register, see here.

Thursday 2 October 2014

News from SIM

Very happy to inform you that as of this week I have been appointed full professor of human rights and director of the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM)! Last week was the formal hand-over ceremony at the occasion of the annual SIM Peter Baehr Lecture (delivered this year by Sir Nigel Rodley), where my esteemed predecessor, professor Jenny Goldschmidt, handed over the baton to me. I feel deeply honoured by having been appointed to this new position and am looking forward to cooperating with the human rights research community across the globe to continue SIM's mission of human rights research and education. In addition, I will of course endeavor to keep up with the challenge of hosting the ECHR Blog. ECHR-related news will be on here again next week (and forgive me for this exceptional detour to something not ECHR-related, dear readers!).