S. The European System of Human Rights Protection

This course provides critical engagement with the European system of human rights protection. Its focus is the functioning of the regime established by the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR” or “Convention”) and its permanent court—the European Court of Human Rights. Beginning with the historical context of its creation, we will explore how this European system of human rights functions. We will study some of the most important rights under the ECHR, and compare its level of protection with that of other systems of human rights protection. Other topics that will be covered include the system of individual petition—the means by which individuals can directly bring international cases before the Court—and inter-State proceedings before the Court—the opportunity every State Party has to bring proceedings against another. We will also study the interaction of the Convention with doctrines of general international law in cases relating to questions such as State immunity; the Court’s territorial and temporal competence; and, finally, the interaction of the rights of the Convention and international humanitarian law.