General Principles of the European Convention on Human Rights

Janneke Gerards

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781108718288
• eBook ISBN: 9781108750967
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Human Rights
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The European Convention on Human Rights is one of the world's most important and influential human rights documents. It owes its value mainly to the European Court of Human Rights, which applies the Convention rights in individual cases. This book offers a clear insight into the concepts and principles that are key to understanding the European Convention and the Court's case-law. It explains how the Court generally approaches the many cases brought before it and which tools help it to decide on these cases, illustrated by numerous examples taken from the Court's judgements. Core issues discussed are the types of Convention rights (such as absolute rights); the structure of the Court's Convention rights review; principles and methods of interpretation (such as common ground interpretation and the use of precedent); positive and negative obligations; vertical and horizontal effect; the margin of appreciation doctrine; and requirements for the restriction of Convention rights.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Contents
• 1 The Basics of the Convention System
• 2 The Court's Overall Argumentative Approach - Mediating Between the Abstract and the Concrete
• 3 Principles Governing the Interpretation and Application of Convention Rights
• 4 Methods of Convention Interpretation
• 5 Positive and Negative Obligations
• 6 Vertical and Horizontal Effect
• 7 The Margin of Appreciation Doctrine
• 8 Justification of Restrictions I - Lawfulness
• 9 Justification of Restrictions II - Legitimate Aim
• 10 Justification of Restrictions III - Necessity, Proportionality and Fair Balance
• Index