European human rights as universal rights : In defence of a holistic understanding of human rights
Scheinin, Martin LU
(2011)
p.259-270
- Abstract
Introduction. The European Convention on Human Rights is but one of many human rights treaties binding upon European states. In particular at the level of the United Nations, numerous – general and specific – human rights treaties have been adopted, to which most Council of Europe member states adhere. This chapter examines how far the scopes of human rights at the UN and the Council of Europe levels are coherent. It promotes an ‘interdependence approach’ based on the idea of universal and indivisible human rights. This does not mean that the scope of every human rights provision should be interpreted in the widest possible way but that every human rights provision should be interpreted as being compatible with all other human rights,... (More)
Introduction. The European Convention on Human Rights is but one of many human rights treaties binding upon European states. In particular at the level of the United Nations, numerous – general and specific – human rights treaties have been adopted, to which most Council of Europe member states adhere. This chapter examines how far the scopes of human rights at the UN and the Council of Europe levels are coherent. It promotes an ‘interdependence approach’ based on the idea of universal and indivisible human rights. This does not mean that the scope of every human rights provision should be interpreted in the widest possible way but that every human rights provision should be interpreted as being compatible with all other human rights, including through the principle of avoiding any ‘cracks’ between human rights, through which important issues could fall. In addition, the chapter proposes an integrated approach to human rights obligations, which would in the author's view require the creation of a World Court of Human Rights, the jurisdiction of which would not be limited to states only, but would also allow for the human rights accountability of other actors besides states as duty-bearers. The determination of the scope of an article in a human rights treaty is an issue that pertains to the interpretation of the treaty in question. It is asserted that the determination of the scope of a treaty provision is neither something predefined, before even addressing the case at hand, nor an operation that could be isolated into a specific step in the course of the overall consideration of a case. True, comparing the human rights claim made by the applicant with reference to an allegedly violated provision of the ECHR to the actual scope of the invoked provision, as understood by the Court, is primarily an admissibility issue. That said, addressing the issue of scope will engage a number of admissibility questions, some of which require a feedback loop from the body of the Court's jurisprudence on the merits. Hence, a single decision that a particular claim falls within or outside the scope of an ECHR provision requires interaction with the institutionalised interpretative practice of the ECHR as a whole. This is one of the two positions this chapter wishes to defend.
(Less)
- author
- Scheinin, Martin
LU
- publishing date
- 2011-01-01
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Human rights, Mänskliga rättigheter
- host publication
- Shaping Rights in the ECHR : The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in Determining the Scope of Human Rights - The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in Determining the Scope of Human Rights
- editor
- Brems, Eva and Gerards, Janneke
- pages
- 12 pages
- publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84923426355
- ISBN
- 9781107043220
- 9781107337923
- DOI
- 10.1017/CBO9781107337923.015
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 1814a0d3-2fe1-4afb-a1ff-fd3c088f3969
- date added to LUP
- 2025-05-21 10:16:10
- date last changed
- 2025-06-03 03:38:58
@inbook{1814a0d3-2fe1-4afb-a1ff-fd3c088f3969,
abstract = {{<p>Introduction. The European Convention on Human Rights is but one of many human rights treaties binding upon European states. In particular at the level of the United Nations, numerous – general and specific – human rights treaties have been adopted, to which most Council of Europe member states adhere. This chapter examines how far the scopes of human rights at the UN and the Council of Europe levels are coherent. It promotes an ‘interdependence approach’ based on the idea of universal and indivisible human rights. This does not mean that the scope of every human rights provision should be interpreted in the widest possible way but that every human rights provision should be interpreted as being compatible with all other human rights, including through the principle of avoiding any ‘cracks’ between human rights, through which important issues could fall. In addition, the chapter proposes an integrated approach to human rights obligations, which would in the author's view require the creation of a World Court of Human Rights, the jurisdiction of which would not be limited to states only, but would also allow for the human rights accountability of other actors besides states as duty-bearers. The determination of the scope of an article in a human rights treaty is an issue that pertains to the interpretation of the treaty in question. It is asserted that the determination of the scope of a treaty provision is neither something predefined, before even addressing the case at hand, nor an operation that could be isolated into a specific step in the course of the overall consideration of a case. True, comparing the human rights claim made by the applicant with reference to an allegedly violated provision of the ECHR to the actual scope of the invoked provision, as understood by the Court, is primarily an admissibility issue. That said, addressing the issue of scope will engage a number of admissibility questions, some of which require a feedback loop from the body of the Court's jurisprudence on the merits. Hence, a single decision that a particular claim falls within or outside the scope of an ECHR provision requires interaction with the institutionalised interpretative practice of the ECHR as a whole. This is one of the two positions this chapter wishes to defend.</p>}},
author = {{Scheinin, Martin}},
booktitle = {{Shaping Rights in the ECHR : The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in Determining the Scope of Human Rights}},
editor = {{Brems, Eva and Gerards, Janneke}},
isbn = {{9781107043220}},
keywords = {{Human rights; Mänskliga rättigheter}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
pages = {{259--270}},
publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}},
title = {{European human rights as universal rights : In defence of a holistic understanding of human rights}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107337923.015}},
doi = {{10.1017/CBO9781107337923.015}},
year = {{2011}},
}