Criminal Law Aspects of the European Court of Human Rights

This course will delve into the establishment of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Spanning the past 50 years, topics to be covered include the institutional structure of the Council of Europe, drafting of the ECHR, an outline of the complaints procedure and the consequences of ECHR judgments. Using this introductory material as a basis for discussion, the course will then focus on general doctrine in ECHR case-law (including Article 1 and the scope of application, positive obligations, horizontal effect, interpretation, margin of appreciation, proportionality, and in concreto review by the ECHR), the right to life and the prohibition of torture (Articles 2 and 3), the right to liberty (Article 5); the right to a fair trial (Article 6), the right to privacy and family life (Article 8), and freedom of expression (Article 10).