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The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics

The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics

Author: Jonas Christoffersen; Mikael Rask Madsen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199686445
Published In: September 2013
Format: Paperback , 288 pages
Jurisdiction: European Union ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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- Interdisciplinary analysis of the development of the European Court of Human Rights, the world's most important human rights court
- Full overview of the problems currently facing the Court, most notably its huge work load, with suggested solutions
- Features contributions from highly-regarded experts on the Court, including former President Luzius Wildhaber
- This paperback edition includes a new postscript reflecting on recent developments at the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics provides a comprehensive analysis of the origins and development of one of the most striking supranational judicial institutions. The book brings together leading scholars and practitioners to cast new light on the substantial jurisprudence and ongoing political reform of the Court. The broad analysis based on historical, legal, and social science perspectives provides fresh insights into the institutional crisis of the Court and the future of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

The European Court of Human Rights is in many ways an unparalleled success. The Court embarked, during the 1970s, upon the development of a progressive and genuinely European jurisprudence. In the post-Cold War era, it went from being the guarantor of human rights solely in Western Europe to becoming increasingly involved in the transition to democracy and the rule of law in Eastern Europe. Now the protector of the human rights of some 800 million Europeans from 47 different countries, the European system is once again deeply challenged - this time by a massive case load and by the Member States' increased reluctance towards the Court. This book paves the way for a better understanding of the system and hence a better basis for choosing the direction of the next stage of the Court's life.

Readership: Students and scholars of international and European human rights law and of international dispute settlement; practicioners and legal advisers involved in cases before the European Court of Human Rights
1: Jonas Christoffersen and Mikael Rask Madsen: Introduction: The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics
Part I - Politics and Institutionalisation
2: Ed Bates: The Birth of the European Convention on Human Rights-and the European Court of Human Rights
3: Mikael Rask Madsen: The Protracted Institutionalisation of the Strasbourg Court: From Legal Diplomacy to Integrationist Jurisprudence
4: Erik Voeten: Politics, Judicial Behaviour, and Institutional Design
5: Rachel A. Cichowski: Civil Society and the European Court of Human Rights
6: Anthony Lester: The European Court of Human Rights after 50 Years
Part II - Law and Legitimization
7: Robert Harmsen: The Reform of the Convention System: Institutional Restructuring and the (Geo-)Politics of Human Rights
8: Stéphanie Hennette-Vauchez: Constitutional v. International? When Unified Reformatory Rationales Mismatch the Plural Paths of Legitimacy of ECHR Law
9: Laurent Scheeck: Diplomatic Intrusions, Dialogues, and Fragile Equilibria: The European Court as a Constitutional Actor of the European Union
10: Jonas Christoffersen: Individual and Constitutional Justice: Can the Power Balance of Adjudication be Reversed?
11: Luzius Wildhaber: Rethinking the European Court of Human Rights
Jonas Christoffersen and Mikael Rask Madsen: Postscript
Dr. jur. Jonas Christoffersen is Executive Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights (Denmark's National Human Rights Institution). He was previously Assistant Professor in Human Rights Law at the University of Copenhagen, a temporary judge at the High Court of Eastern Denmark, and a clerk at the Supreme Court of Denmark. He is also an advocate admitted to the Danish Bar and the High Courts of Denmark.

Mikael Rask Madsen is Professor of European Law and Integration at the University of Copenhagen and Director of iCourts, the Danish National Research Foundation's Centre of Excellence for International Courts. He was formerly at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He has been a visitor at numerous universities, including University of Strasbourg, Oxford University, and University of California at Berkeley.

Contributors:
Ed Bates, Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton, School of Law.
Rachel A. Cichowski, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Law, Societies and Justice Program, University of Washington.
Robert Harmsen, Professor of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg, formerly Senior Lecturer in European Studies at Queen's University Belfast
Stéphanie Hennette-Vauchez, Professor of Public Law at Université de Paris - Est Créteil, as well as Marie Curie Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence.
Anthony Lester, practising barrister QC and member of Blackstone Chambers, as well as a member of the House of Lords (Lord Lester of Herne Hill), Co-Founder and Hon President of Interights and a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights.
Laurent Scheeck, Counsellor, International Relations Unit of the Chamber of Deputies, Luxembourg, formlerly Associate Professor at the Institut d'Etudes Européennes - Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Erik Voeten, Peter F. Krogh Associate Professor of Geopolitics and Global Justice, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and Government Department, Georgetown University.
Luzius Wildhaber, Professor (em.) at the University of Basel, Visiting Professor at Yale Law School and former President of the European Court of Human Rights (1998-2007).
"Every contribution to the book is relevant, illuminating and worthwhile reading.... Its purchase is highly recommended and should be a must for those actually involved in the reform process: at the Court, at the Parliamentary Assembly, at government departments, but also for anyone interested in the work of the Court and its functioning." - Birgit Peters, Nordic Journal of Human Rights

"All in all, The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics is a welcome addition to the growing corpus of multi- and interdisciplinary research on the Court. Its chapters usefully summarise some of the Court's key development trajectories, highlight the current problems that have emerged, especially in light of the caseload explosion, and intelligently address some of the implications for the future of the ECHR system, including possible reforms." - Andreas von Staden, Human Rights Law Review

"There are some bold, some might say brave, suggestions which mark the book out from previous similar works." - Journal of the Commonwealth Lawyers' Association 2011

"The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics offers a timely interdisciplinary analysis of the current need for reform of the European Court of Human Rights through the analytical framework of the institution's origins and function." - Rachel Clare Herron, Legal Studies