Resume
Samenvatting International and European Human rights law
- Établissement
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
Les notities besproken arresten EHRM
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Par: jdh01 • 1 année de cela
Was through with an 11/20. Summary is okay but is already a bit outdated as many more judgments have been made.
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PRACTICALCourse material
1. Book called ‘Text’ (entitled to bring to the exam)
2. Book called ‘Cases and materials’
- Readings for each class mostly extracts from EU court cases (just to read, not study by heart)
- Handouts are more comprehensive than the material we discuss in class → topics that we do
not address, you are not supposed to study them for the exam
Exam: contains 2 questions
1. Essay question: very open one, aim is to see if you understand the concepts
2. Case question: eg.: case before CJEU with facts and you are asked how you would solve it or defend your
position (later explained in class on how to answer this)
Show that you master the theory and come up with a conclusion
IRAC structure: identify the problem, give the rules, apply the rules and conclusion
Course consist of three parts
1. The concept of Human rights
2. The various international orders that exist in a nutshell
3. Analyzing some of the substantive Human rights
1
,PRACTICAL ....................................................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 1: CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ..................................................................................................... 10
1 Fundamental rights ............................................................................................................................. 10
1.1 Common characteristics .............................................................................................................................. 10
A. Protection of individuals against abuse of authority ................................................................................... 11
B. Protection of the human dignity ................................................................................................................. 11
1.2 Are all human rights “fundamental” rights?................................................................................................ 12
1.3 Categories of human rights ......................................................................................................................... 12
A. Individual rights and freedoms .................................................................................................................... 12
§1 Freedoms and procedural rights (“1st generation”): civil and political ............................................. 12
§2 Participation rights (“2nd generation”): economic, social and cultural ............................................. 13
B. Collective rights (“3rd generation”): solidarity rights .................................................................................. 13
1.4 Holders of fundamental rights .................................................................................................................... 14
A. Individuals ................................................................................................................................................... 14
B. Private entities ............................................................................................................................................ 14
C. Collectivizes ................................................................................................................................................. 14
1.5 Bearers of duty to respect fundamental rights ........................................................................................... 14
A. States ........................................................................................................................................................... 14
B. Private individuals and private entities ....................................................................................................... 14
§1 Vertical application of HR provision................................................................................................... 14
§2 Horizontal application of HR provision .............................................................................................. 14
1.6 Are fundamental rights absolute or relative? ............................................................................................. 15
2 Fundamental responsibilities ............................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Individuals ................................................................................................................................................... 15
2.2 States ........................................................................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 2: HUMAN RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND IN INTERNATIONAL LAW ......................... 16
1 International standards and international control mechanisms ......................................................... 16
2 National sovereignty and international protection of human rights ................................................... 16
2.1 In general..................................................................................................................................................... 16
2.2 Action in response to serious violations of human rights ........................................................................... 16
A. Economic measures..................................................................................................................................... 16
§1 “Human rights clause” in the trade and cooperation agreements between the EU and third
countries .......................................................................................................................................................... 16
§2 Economic sanctions (see art. 41 UN Charter) .................................................................................... 17
B. Use of force (military intervention) ............................................................................................................. 17
§1 Provisions of UN Charter ................................................................................................................... 17
§2 Cf. NATO intervention in Yugoslavia (1999) ....................................................................................... 17
§3 The search for criteria ........................................................................................................................ 17
3 Universality of human rights ............................................................................................................... 18
4 Human rights law and international humanitarian law ...................................................................... 18
5 Some principles of international treaty law ......................................................................................... 19
5.1 Interpretation of treaties ............................................................................................................................ 19
5.2 Reservations ................................................................................................................................................ 19
5.3 Denunciation of a treaty.............................................................................................................................. 19
5.4 State succession .......................................................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER 3: UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM ................................................................................ 20
1 Human Rights Council .......................................................................................................................... 20
1.1 Generalities ................................................................................................................................................. 20
1.2 Procedures, mechanisms and structures .................................................................................................... 20
A. Universal periodic review ............................................................................................................................ 20
B. Special procedures ...................................................................................................................................... 20
2
, C. Advisory Committee .................................................................................................................................... 21
D. Complaint procedure .................................................................................................................................. 21
2 Human rights treaties and mechanisms based on them ..................................................................... 21
2.1 Core international HR treaties ..................................................................................................................... 21
A. Techniques used to guarantee the compliance with obligations following treaties/conventions .............. 21
§1 Examination of state reports ............................................................................................................. 21
§2 Examination of individual complaints ................................................................................................ 21
§3 General comments ............................................................................................................................ 22
3 Judicial consideration of human rights issues, at the universal level .................................................. 22
3.1 International Court of Justice ...................................................................................................................... 22
3.2 No world Court of Human Rights ................................................................................................................ 22
CHAPTER 4: REGIONAL SYSTEMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION ............................................................... 23
1 Europe .................................................................................................................................................. 23
1.1 Council of Europe ........................................................................................................................................ 23
A. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 23
B. Treaties ........................................................................................................................................................ 23
§1 European Convention on Human Rights (1950) ................................................................................ 23
i. History ............................................................................................................................................... 23
ii. Rights guaranteed .............................................................................................................................. 23
iii. Shared responsibility of the States Parties and the European Court of Human Rights ..................... 24
iv. The Strasbourg control mechanism ................................................................................................... 24
a) (Inter-State and) individual applications to the European Court of Human Rights ........................ 24
1. Organization of the court .......................................................................................................... 24
2. Admissibility of applications ...................................................................................................... 24
3. Procedure .................................................................................................................................. 25
4. Further reforms of the European Court .................................................................................... 29
b) Requests for information by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe .............................. 29
§2 European Social Charter (1961) ......................................................................................................... 30
§3 European Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of
Personal Data (1981) ........................................................................................................................................ 30
§4 European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (1987) ........................................................................................................................................... 30
§5 European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1994) ........................ 30
§6 European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights (1996) .................................................... 30
§7 European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (1997) ..................................................... 30
§8 Convention on Access to Official Documents (2009) ......................................................................... 30
C. Commissioner for Human Rights ................................................................................................................. 31
1.2 European Union........................................................................................................................................... 31
A. Respect for Human Rights ........................................................................................................................... 31
§1 Normative framework ....................................................................................................................... 31
i. General principles of EU law .............................................................................................................. 31
ii. Treaty on EU ...................................................................................................................................... 31
iii. EU Charter of Fundamental rights ..................................................................................................... 31
iv. De lege ferenda: accession of EU to European Convention on human Rights? ................................. 32
§2 EU agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) .......................................................................................... 32
§3 Control of EU acts by the European Court of Human Rights ............................................................. 32
i. De lege lata ........................................................................................................................................ 32
B. Human Rights policies ................................................................................................................................. 33
§1 Within the EU .................................................................................................................................... 33
§2 In external relations ........................................................................................................................... 33
1.3 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe................................................................................. 33
2 America ................................................................................................................................................ 34
3 Africa ................................................................................................................................................... 35
3
, 4 Asia-Pacific Region............................................................................................................................... 35
5 Muslim World ...................................................................................................................................... 35
CHAPTER 5: OBLIGATIONS IMPOSED ON STATES BY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES .................. 36
1 Obligation to secure human rights to everyone within the jurisdiction of the state ........................... 36
1.1 Principle: territorial jurisdiction .................................................................................................................. 36
1.2 Exception: extra-territorial jurisdiction ....................................................................................................... 36
A. State agent authority and control ............................................................................................................... 36
B. Effective control of an area situated outside a state’s territory, as a consequence of military action ....... 37
2 Nature of the state’s obligations and international review of state action or inaction....................... 37
2.1 Negative and positive obligations ............................................................................................................... 37
A. Negative obligations .................................................................................................................................... 37
§1 Principle: obligation to respect .......................................................................................................... 37
§2 Conditions for lawfulness of inference .............................................................................................. 37
i. Explicitly admitted limitations ........................................................................................................... 37
a) Legality ........................................................................................................................................... 37
1. Existence of a basis in domestic law .......................................................................................... 37
2. Quality of the law ...................................................................................................................... 37
b) Finality............................................................................................................................................ 38
c) Necessity, in a democratic society.................................................................................................. 38
1. Concept of necessity: pressing social need ............................................................................... 38
2. Implications of the necessity condition ..................................................................................... 38
ii. Implied limitations ............................................................................................................................. 39
B. Positive obligations ..................................................................................................................................... 39
§1 Recognition of the existence of positive obligations ......................................................................... 39
§2 Aspects of the positive obligations .................................................................................................... 39
i. Obligation to fulfil .............................................................................................................................. 39
ii. Obligation to protect ......................................................................................................................... 40
§3 Criteria for determining the existence and the scope of a positive obligation .................................. 40
2.2 National margin of appreciation and international control ........................................................................ 40
A. The theory of the margin of appreciation, as developed by the European Court of Human Rights ........... 41
§1 Notion of margin of appreciation ...................................................................................................... 41
§2 Breadth of the margin of appreciation .............................................................................................. 41
§3 In case of a wide margin: compensation by procedural safeguards .................................................. 42
i. Process-based review ........................................................................................................................ 42
ii. Substantive review ............................................................................................................................ 43
§4 European supervision ........................................................................................................................ 43
§5 Reference to the margin of appreciation doctrine in the preamble of the ECHR (Protocol No. 15) .. 43
B. Example ....................................................................................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER 6: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE DOMESTIC LEGAL ORDER ............................................ 44
1 Status of international human rights norms in the domestic legal order ............................................ 44
1.1 Implementation of an international human rights treaty in the domestic legal order ............................... 45
A. Cf. Art. 2, § 2, CCPR; Art. 1 ECHR ................................................................................................................. 45
B. Effect of the treaty in the domestic legal order .......................................................................................... 45
1.2 Right to an effective remedy, in case of an alleged violation of fundamental rights and freedoms ........... 45
2 Effects of the finding of a violation of human rights by an international control organ ..................... 46
2.1 European Court of Human Rights ................................................................................................................ 46
A. Execution of judgments of the European Court (Art. 46 ECHR) .................................................................. 46
§1 An obligation to comply (Art. 46, § 1, ECHR) (“res judicata”) ............................................................ 46
i. An unequivocal legal obligation ......................................................................................................... 46
ii. An obligation for all organs of the state concerned .......................................................................... 46
iii. No direct effect of judgments of the European Court in the domestic legal order ........................... 47
iv. Two sorts of obligations ..................................................................................................................... 47
4
, a) Obligations vis-à-vis the applicant.................................................................................................. 48
b) Obligations of a more general nature: prevention of similar violations in the future. Pilot-
judgment procedure ............................................................................................................................... 48
§2 Supervision of the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights by the
Committee of Ministers (Art. 46, § 2, ECHR) .................................................................................................... 48
§3 Infringement procedure (Art. 46, §§ 3-5, ECHR) ................................................................................ 49
B. Authority of the European Court’s interpretation of the ECHR (“res interpretata”) ................................... 49
CHAPTER 7: STUDY OF SELECTED HUMAN RIGHTS ......................................................................................... 49
1 Right to life (art. 2 ECHR) ..................................................................................................................... 49
1.1 Supreme value in the hierarchy of human rights ........................................................................................ 50
1.2 Scope of application: protection of the “life” of individuals ....................................................................... 50
1.3 Scope of the protection ............................................................................................................................... 50
A. Negative obligation: prohibition of arbitrary interference with a person’s life .......................................... 50
§1 Principle ............................................................................................................................................. 51
§2 Exceptions .......................................................................................................................................... 51
i. Use of force, under certain conditions .............................................................................................. 51
ii. Death penalty .................................................................................................................................... 52
B. Positive obligations ..................................................................................................................................... 52
§1 Substantive obligation: preventive measures .................................................................................... 52
i. Protection against risks created by public authorities ....................................................................... 52
ii. Protection against risk created by other individuals.......................................................................... 53
iii. Protection against external factors.................................................................................................... 53
iv. Protection of vulnerable persons ...................................................................................................... 54
v. Protection of an individual against himself........................................................................................ 54
§2 Procedural obligation: effective investigation ................................................................................... 55
i. In a case of death suspicious circumstances ...................................................................................... 55
ii. In case of loss of life due to events occurring under the responsibility of the public authorities ..... 55
iii. In case of unintentional loss of life, not involving the responsibility of the state ............................. 55
2 Right to respect for private life (art. 8 ECHR)....................................................................................... 55
2.1 Notion of private life ................................................................................................................................... 56
A. Traditional point of view ............................................................................................................................. 56
B. Evolution ..................................................................................................................................................... 56
C. Personal sphere ........................................................................................................................................... 56
D. Zone of interaction of a person with others ................................................................................................ 57
2.2 Applications ................................................................................................................................................. 57
A. Negative aspects ......................................................................................................................................... 58
§1 Regulation of sexual conduct ............................................................................................................. 58
§2 Prohibition of abortion ...................................................................................................................... 58
§3 Regulation of certain procreation techniques ................................................................................... 59
§4 Processing personal data ................................................................................................................... 60
§5 Measures affecting a person’s lifestyle, or prompted by it ............................................................... 60
B. Positive aspects ........................................................................................................................................... 61
§1 Right to become a parent .................................................................................................................. 61
§2 Right to abortion................................................................................................................................ 61
§3 Protection against interferences by the press ................................................................................... 62
§4 Protection of employees against actions by employers .................................................................... 62
§5 Protection against processing of personal data ................................................................................. 63
§6 Protection against sexual offenders .................................................................................................. 63
§7 Recognition of transsexualism ........................................................................................................... 63
§8 Environmental protection .................................................................................................................. 63
3 Prohibition of torture (art. 3 ECHR) ..................................................................................................... 64
3.1 Scope of application .................................................................................................................................... 65
A. Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ............................................................................. 65
B. Torture ........................................................................................................................................................ 65
5
, 3.2 Scope of protection ..................................................................................................................................... 66
A. Negative obligation ..................................................................................................................................... 66
§1 Absolute prohibition .......................................................................................................................... 66
§2 Examples of ill-treatment .................................................................................................................. 66
i. Ill-treatment by police and security forces ........................................................................................ 67
ii. Treatment of vulnerable persons, in need of special protection ....................................................... 67
iii. Living conditions of persons deprived of their liberty ....................................................................... 68
a) Prison ............................................................................................................................................. 68
iv. Death penalty .................................................................................................................................... 70
v. Life-long prison sentence ................................................................................................................... 70
vi. Deportation or extradition of aliens .................................................................................................. 71
B. Positive obligation ....................................................................................................................................... 72
§1 Substantive obligation: preventive measures .................................................................................... 73
i. Effective criminal-law provisions and law-enforcement machinery .................................................. 73
ii. Preventive operational measures ...................................................................................................... 73
§2 Procedural obligation: effective investigation ................................................................................... 74
i. Requirement of investigation, capable of leading to establishment of facts and to identification and
punishment of the perpetrator ................................................................................................................... 74
3.3 Prevention ................................................................................................................................................... 74
A. European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or punishment
(1987) .................................................................................................................................................................... 75
B. Optional protocol to UN Convention against Torture (2002) ...................................................................... 75
4 Freedom of expression (art. 10 ECHR) ................................................................................................. 75
4.1 General characteristics ................................................................................................................................ 75
A. Importance of the freedom of expression for a democratic society ........................................................... 76
B. Scope of application of the freedom of expression ..................................................................................... 76
§1 Ratione personae ............................................................................................................................... 76
§2 Ratione materiae ............................................................................................................................... 76
C. Obligations of the state ............................................................................................................................... 76
§1 Negative obligations .......................................................................................................................... 76
ii. Principle ............................................................................................................................................. 77
iii. Exceptions .......................................................................................................................................... 77
a) Duties and responsibilities ............................................................................................................. 77
b) Lawfulness of restrictions .............................................................................................................. 77
§2 Positive obligations ............................................................................................................................ 77
4.2 Applications ................................................................................................................................................. 77
A. Negative obligations .................................................................................................................................... 77
§1 Freedom of the press ......................................................................................................................... 78
i. Attacks on honor and reputation....................................................................................................... 78
ii. Disclosure of confidential information .............................................................................................. 78
iii. Contempt of court, fair trial ............................................................................................................... 78
§2 Political speech and debate on questions of public interest ............................................................. 78
§3 Academic freedom............................................................................................................................. 78
§4 Expression by persons in a special authority relationship ................................................................. 79
i. Obligations imposed on civil servants................................................................................................ 79
§5 Obscene or blasphemous expression ................................................................................................ 79
§6 Racist or intolerant speech ................................................................................................................ 80
B. Positive obligations ..................................................................................................................................... 82
§1 Access to governmental information ................................................................................................. 82
§2 Pluralism in the media ....................................................................................................................... 82
§3 Regulation of “fora” for exercise of freedom of expression .............................................................. 82
5 Right of property (art. 1 of Protocol No. 1 to ECHR) ............................................................................ 82
5.1 Scope of application .................................................................................................................................... 83
A. Object of art. 1 of Prot. No. 1: Right of property ......................................................................................... 83
B. Notion of “possessions” .............................................................................................................................. 83
6
, §1 Autonomous meaning ....................................................................................................................... 83
i. Existing possessions ........................................................................................................................... 83
ii. Assets, including claims, for which there is a sufficient basis in domestic law, and in respect of which
one can argue that one has at least a “legitimate expectation” of obtaining effective enjoyment of a
property right .............................................................................................................................................. 83
§2 Not covered ....................................................................................................................................... 83
5.2 Obligations of the state ............................................................................................................................... 83
A. Negative obligations .................................................................................................................................... 83
§1 General characteristics of the prohibition of interference with the right of property ...................... 84
i. Two particular rules ........................................................................................................................... 84
a) First paragraph, second sentence .................................................................................................. 84
b) Second paragraph .......................................................................................................................... 84
ii. A general (residual) rule: first paragraph, first sentence ................................................................... 84
§2 Specific characteristics of the various forms of interference with the right of property ................... 84
i. Deprivation of possessions (first paragraph, second sentence) ........................................................ 84
a) Notion ............................................................................................................................................ 84
b) Conditions for the lawfulness of an interference ........................................................................... 84
c) Applications .................................................................................................................................... 84
1. Expropriation ............................................................................................................................. 84
2. Retrospective legislation, or legislation applicable to pending proceedings ............................. 85
ii. Control of the use of property; taxes, other contributions and penalties (second paragraph) ......... 85
a) Control of the use of property ....................................................................................................... 85
1. Notion........................................................................................................................................ 86
2. Conditions for the lawfulness of an interference ...................................................................... 86
3. Applications ............................................................................................................................... 86
b) Taxes, other contributions and penalties ....................................................................................... 86
1. Notion........................................................................................................................................ 86
2. Conditions for the lawfulness of an interference ...................................................................... 87
iii. Other interferences with the right of property (first paragraph, first sentence) ............................... 87
a) Notion ............................................................................................................................................ 87
b) Conditions for the lawfulness of the interference ......................................................................... 87
c) Applications .................................................................................................................................... 87
1. Forced eviction of inhabitant from a village (internal displacement) ........................................ 87
2. Destruction of property ............................................................................................................. 87
3. Refusal to pay compensation ordered by a court ..................................................................... 87
4. Expropriation permit ................................................................................................................. 87
5. Right of pre-emption of the state .............................................................................................. 88
6. Debt adjustment........................................................................................................................ 88
B. Positive obligations ..................................................................................................................................... 88
6 Right to a fair trial (art. 6 ECHR) .......................................................................................................... 88
6.1 Scope of applications of art. 6 ECHR ........................................................................................................... 88
A. Civil matters ................................................................................................................................................ 89
§1 Dispute over rights and obligations ................................................................................................... 89
i. Dispute............................................................................................................................................... 89
ii. Rights and obligations........................................................................................................................ 89
iii. Rights or obligations as object of the dispute .................................................................................... 89
§2 Civil character of the rights or obligations at issue ............................................................................ 89
i. Enforceable rights are in principle civil rights .................................................................................... 89
ii. Private law features vs. public law features ...................................................................................... 89
iii. Excluded ............................................................................................................................................ 89
B. Criminal matters .......................................................................................................................................... 90
§1 Criminal charge .................................................................................................................................. 90
§2 Stages of the proceedings .................................................................................................................. 90
6.2 Right to a court ............................................................................................................................................ 90
A. Principle of the rule of law .......................................................................................................................... 90
7
, B. Right to access a court................................................................................................................................. 91
§1 Principle ............................................................................................................................................. 91
§2 Limitations ......................................................................................................................................... 91
C. Right to a judicial determination of the dispute .......................................................................................... 91
D. Respect for the final determination by a court ........................................................................................... 91
§1 Inalterability of judgements............................................................................................................... 91
§2 Execution of judgements ................................................................................................................... 91
6.3 Structural and procedural guarantees......................................................................................................... 91
A. Tribunal established by law ......................................................................................................................... 91
B. Independence and impartiality ................................................................................................................... 91
§1 Independence .................................................................................................................................... 91
§2 Impartiality ........................................................................................................................................ 91
i. Notion ................................................................................................................................................ 91
ii. Two approaches................................................................................................................................. 92
iii. Applications ....................................................................................................................................... 92
C. Public hearing and public judgement .......................................................................................................... 93
D. Fair hearing.................................................................................................................................................. 93
§1 In general ........................................................................................................................................... 93
i. Right to take part in the proceedings ................................................................................................ 93
ii. Adversarial character of the proceedings .......................................................................................... 93
iii. Equality of arms ................................................................................................................................. 93
iv. Evidence............................................................................................................................................. 94
v. Reasons of the decision ..................................................................................................................... 94
§2 Specific guarantees in criminal cases ................................................................................................. 95
i. Right to remain silent, privilege against self-incrimination ............................................................... 95
ii. Presumption of innocence ................................................................................................................. 95
iii. Examination of witnesses (absent or anonymous witnesses) ........................................................... 95
E. Reasonable time .......................................................................................................................................... 95
§1 Period to be taken into account ........................................................................................................ 95
§2 Assessment of the reasonableness of the length of the proceedings ............................................... 95
i. Assessment in the light of the circumstances of the case ................................................................. 96
ii. Criteria ............................................................................................................................................... 96
§3 Consequences of an undue delay ...................................................................................................... 96
§4 Remedies against an undue delay ..................................................................................................... 96
7 Equality and non-discrimination, and protection of vulnerable groups .............................................. 96
7.1 Equality and non-discrimination ................................................................................................................. 97
A. Terminology ................................................................................................................................................ 97
§1 Equality .............................................................................................................................................. 97
§2 Discrimination .................................................................................................................................... 97
B. Equality and non-discrimination in the CCPR and the ECHR ....................................................................... 98
§1 CCPR................................................................................................................................................... 98
§2 ECHR .................................................................................................................................................. 98
C. Obligations of the State ............................................................................................................................... 99
§1 Negative obligation: prohibition of discrimination ............................................................................ 99
i. Prohibition applicable both to granting advantages and to imposing restrictions ............................ 99
ii. Constitutive elements of a discrimination ......................................................................................... 99
a) With respect to a difference in treatment ..................................................................................... 99
1. Existence of categories of persons in comparable or relevantly similar situations ................... 99
2. Existence of a difference in treatment, based on a personal characteristic .............................. 99
3. Absence of an objective and reasonable justification ............................................................. 100
b) With respect to a failure to take differences into account .......................................................... 100
1. An equal treatment of persons in relevantly different situations ........................................... 100
2. Absence of an objective and reasonable justification ............................................................. 100
§2 Positive obligation: protection against discrimination .................................................................... 100
8
, i. Obligation to take positive measures, in order to ensure equality and to eliminate existing
inequalities ................................................................................................................................................ 101
ii. Protection against discrimination by private individuals and entities ............................................. 101
7.2 Protection of vulnerable groups ................................................................................................................ 101
A. Protection of people characterized by so-called race or ethnicity ............................................................ 101
§1 Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity ........................................................ 101
§2 Positive measures ............................................................................................................................ 101
§3 Conflict with other fundamental rights, in particular freedom of expression ................................. 101
B. Elimination of discrimination of women ................................................................................................... 101
§1 Women’s rights as aspects of classical fundamental rights ............................................................. 101
§2 Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of gender ....................................................................... 101
§3 Positive measures ............................................................................................................................ 102
8 Economic, social and cultural rights .................................................................................................. 102
8.1 Economic, social and cultural rights as human rights ................................................................................ 103
A. Attention for economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) in 20th century ................................................ 103
B. Treaties on ESCR ........................................................................................................................................ 103
§1 International Covenant on ESCR (1966)........................................................................................... 103
§2 European Social Charter .................................................................................................................. 103
8.2 Differences between civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights .......................... 104
A. Traditional differences .............................................................................................................................. 104
B. Dichotomies are “false” ones .................................................................................................................... 104
8.3 Obligations of States with respect to economic, social and cultural rights ............................................... 104
A. Generalities ............................................................................................................................................... 104
B. Typology of obligations ............................................................................................................................. 105
§1 Negative obligation (obligation to “respect”) .................................................................................. 105
§2 Positive obligations .......................................................................................................................... 105
i. Obligation to take positive measures, towards the progressive realization of economic, social and
cultural rights (obligation to “fulfil”) ......................................................................................................... 105
ii. Obligation to protect individuals against violations of their economic, social and cultural rights by
third parties (obligation to “protect”) ....................................................................................................... 105
§3 Principle of equality and non-discrimination ................................................................................... 106
8.4 Applications ............................................................................................................................................... 106
A. General comments by Committee on ESCR .............................................................................................. 106
B. Examination of national reports by European Committee of Social Rights ............................................... 106
C. Complaints before European Committee of Social Rights ......................................................................... 106
D. National case law ...................................................................................................................................... 106
9
, CHAPTER 1: CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
1 FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
1.1 COMMON CHARACTERISTICS
What are Human Rights (HR) all about?
There are various aspects of HR (political, philosophical) → Focus in class mainly on legal aspect of it (legal class)
History:
⇒ HR developed after WW II → that’s where you find international treaties protecting HR as HR
- Upon till WO II also rights, but more fundamental or constitutional rights
- After WO II, HR found their way (later more).
Scope of HR
- Some authors use HR in a broad way and say: you find origins of HR in medieval charters.
- Others in a stricter way: you can only refer to human rights as of WW II
Professor’s meaning: we have to include constitutional rights as well, because the rights we are talking about and
that have been protected and put forward by those international treaties, not rights that were invented at that
very moment. They have a historical pedigree that we need to include if we really want to understand what human
rights all are about.
Why do we have HR?
= Complicated question to give an answer to
- Simply because we are all human beings? → right claim, BUT legally speaking this is particularly vague
- Want to know whether there exists a HR to something? → Not able to answer relying on that definition
“these are rights that we all have because of our belonging to humankind”
Where can you find HR?
- In the treaties → HR are rights you can find in the treaties: the right not to be tortured, the right to life,
the right to privacy, the right to freedom of expression, the right to socio economic rights, the right to
housing, …
- BUT no answer to ‘Why are it specifically these rights that are included in the treaties as HR and not
others?’ or ‘why are they worded in that specific way and not in another?’
Eg.: man and woman of marriable age have the right to marry.
Why ‘man and woman’? Why not say ‘all human beings have the right to...’? Why is it not claiming, why is it not
clearly stating that men and women, human beings, the whole category of human beings, has the right to marry
irrespective of the gender of the person they are going to marry?
There are evolutions
Things that in the past were excluded from the protection of HR, rights that were completely excluded or certain
expressions of rights that were not covered and where we see things are changing
What is it that HR do, what is their function?
→ 2 important narratives that go back to the historical development of HR:
- Protection of individuals against abuse of authority
- Human dignity
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Les clients de Stuvia ont évalués plus de 700 000 résumés. C'est comme ça que vous savez que vous achetez les meilleurs documents.
L’achat facile et rapide
Vous pouvez payer rapidement avec iDeal, carte de crédit ou Stuvia-crédit pour les résumés. Il n'y a pas d'adhésion nécessaire.
Focus sur l’essentiel
Vos camarades écrivent eux-mêmes les notes d’étude, c’est pourquoi les documents sont toujours fiables et à jour. Cela garantit que vous arrivez rapidement au coeur du matériel.
Foire aux questions
Qu'est-ce que j'obtiens en achetant ce document ?
Vous obtenez un PDF, disponible immédiatement après votre achat. Le document acheté est accessible à tout moment, n'importe où et indéfiniment via votre profil.
Garantie de remboursement : comment ça marche ?
Notre garantie de satisfaction garantit que vous trouverez toujours un document d'étude qui vous convient. Vous remplissez un formulaire et notre équipe du service client s'occupe du reste.
Auprès de qui est-ce que j'achète ce résumé ?
Stuvia est une place de marché. Alors, vous n'achetez donc pas ce document chez nous, mais auprès du vendeur jani123. Stuvia facilite les paiements au vendeur.
Est-ce que j'aurai un abonnement?
Non, vous n'achetez ce résumé que pour €15,99. Vous n'êtes lié à rien après votre achat.
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