Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

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• published: 21 Jun 2015
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BOOK REVIEW JUDGMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS- EFFECTS AND IMPLEMENTATION Edited by Anja Seibert-Fohr and Mark E Villiger Ashgate Publishing Limited Studies of the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law Also available as an ebook ISBN: 978 1 47245 975 6 (book) 978 1 47245 976 3 (ebook pdf) 978 1 47245 977 0 (ebook) www.ashgate.com THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: CONTROVERSIES AND CONCLUSIONS AIRED IN A FASCINATING DEBATE An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers Published by Ashgate, this book and its constituent articles is basically the result of an international conference held at Gottingen University toward the end of 2013. The key topic: the European Court of Human Rights and the various related issues -- many of them controversial – that has loomed large throughout the European Union whenever human rights are discussed. The matter of human rights -- with the need to define boundaries and arrive at correct, or at least reasonable interpretations -- has escalated into a major debate, certainly in the UK where we (not to mention the Americans, etc.) are celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta (1215) which marked the beginning of the end of absolute monarchial power and therefore the tentative and fitful start of modern democracy and the Common Law. The next few centuries that followed saw heroic and often horrific struggles to maintain the rights enshrined in Magna Carta, which by turns, were annulled, rescinded, mis-applied or conveniently ignored. And even now, when the document is venerated, (while feared by dictatorial regimes everywhere) many of its basic tenets still come under threat. With all this in mind, it should come as no surprise to anyone that there are a lot of Brits out there who are squeamish about any abdication of their sovereignty to any form of European court, including the ECHR. The most interesting segment of this book therefore -- at least to a United Kingdom readership -- is the section IV on ‘Subsidiarity’ and the role of domestic courts (i.e. the courts in individual EU member states) in implementing ECHR judgments. Of special interest here are the articles by Sir John Laws from the Court of Appeal -- and Derek Walton, the UK agent at the ECHR. ‘Are Human Rights Undemocratic?’ asks Laws, examining specific instances where this is, or is not, the case. ‘There is an imperative need,’ he says for ‘a principled disavowal by the ECHR of primary decision-maker.’ Without this disavowal there is ‘a failure to respect the courts of the Member States as the primary safeguard of human rights’. Making policy, Laws concludes, is not the role of judges; it is the role of democratic governments -- and if courts ignore that, he believes, they lose faith and damage the rule of law. In the article following this robust and absolutely correct stance, Walton examines ‘Subsidiarity and the Brighton Declaration’, pointing out that the principle of subsidiarity lies at the heart of this important conference which took place in April 2012, defining, embedding and reinforcing it. ‘Work is already under way,’ he notes ‘on the longer term future of the Court (the ECHR) that may further develop the way the principle applies.’ In the words of its two editors, Seibert-Fohr and Villiger, this admirable book which airs so many different -- and sometimes conflicting -- points of view, provides a fresh look at the relationship between national jurisdictions and the ECHR. This and the Gottingen Conference from which it sprung, have functioned as much needed initiatives in providing a highly respected forum for debate on vital human rights issues, which will ultimately affect everyone in the European Union and certainly the future of the European Union itself. It is worth noting that the book is the second volume in a new series entitled ‘Studies of the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law’. It is published under the Nomos imprint of Ashgate Publishing. Ideally, this is a book which should be on the bookshelves of international lawyers and academics throughout the European Union and beyond.