Kommentatorer:
- Matti Pellonpää, dommer i Høgsta Forvaltningsdomstolen i Finland.
Leder for evalueringen og veileder:
- Midtveisevalueringen ledes av professor Ulf Stridbeck.
- Reiertsens veiledere er dommer i Norges Høyesterett Arnfinn Bårdsen og professor Andreas Føllesdal.
For disposisjon og tekstutkast, kontakt Michael Reiertsen.
The European Convention on Human Rights Article 13 – Past, Present and Future
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Article 13 grants the right to an effective remedy in case of arguable violations of substantive human rights in the ECHR. Broadly speaking this entails two rights: Firstly, a right to access to a domestic authority that with binding effect can determine if substantive rights in the ECHR have been violated (access to justice). Secondly, a right to redress if those rights are found to be violated (appropriate redress).
Even though the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) has dealt with the ECHR Article 13 in a number of cases, the content and scope of the right to an effective remedy is uncertain. In early years, the Court showed considerable reluctance in giving effect to the Article, but in recent years there is a clear trend in the practice of the Court towards reinforcing the scope of the right. The Court has provided little principled reasoning for this development. The factual background is clearer: The Court is overwhelmed with applications and the calls for a more subsidiary protection of human rights under the Convention are growing stronger. These calls do not only arise in legal literature, but are increasingly also coming from States themselves, in particular in the process of reform of the Court and the ECHR.
The thesis has two main objectives:
1.) Provide an analysis of the current obligations arising from the ECHR Article 13 as understood in the practice of the Court.
2.) Look to the future by examining to what extent the ECHR Article 13 could and should be used to achieve a more subsidiary protection of human rights under the ECHR.
The theme for the mid-way evaluation is the overall structure and direction of the thesis. Trends and areas for potential (further) development in the practice of the Court will be highlighted. Some theses and possible methodological approaches as regards the future role of the ECHR Article 13 will also be presented.