A Theory of Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights

A Theory of Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights provides a philosophically informed study of the methods of interpretation used by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. By drawing on Anglo-American legal, political and moral philosophy, the book aims to provide a normative theory of the foundations of ECHR rights.

A powerfully argued, compelling and strikingly original contribution which deserves a central place in contemporary debates about the Convention and human rights in Europe... The author is... to be congratulated not only for producing such a ground-breaking and erudite study, but for opening up a potentially rich and fruitful research agenda to which he and others can contribute for a long time to come.

Auteur
George Letsas is Lecturer in Law at University College London

Contenu

• 1: Human Rights, Legality, and the ECHR

• Introduction

• Background to and a Very Brief History of Human Rights

• No One-Size-Fits-All Theory of Human Rights

• Human Rights as Conditions of Legitimacy

• Human Rights, Legal Rights, and Interpretivism

• Conclusion

• 2: Autonomous Concepts, Conventionalism, and Judicial Discretion

• Introduction

• The Emergence of Autonomous Concepts

• Good-Faith Violations of the ECHR

• A More Recent Example of an Autonomous Concept

• Autonomous Concepts and Judicial Discretion

• Need for Harmonization and Uniform Application?

• Autonomous Concepts as Disagreement

• Does Disagreement Entail Judicial Discretion?

• Possible Choices

• 3: Intentionalism, Textualism, and Evolutive Interpretation

• Introduction

• Originalism in Constitutional Law

• Golder v UK: VCLT and the Case of Unenumerated Rights

• After Golder: the ECHR as a Living Instrument

• The Failures of Originalism

• The Object and Purpose of the ECHR

• Evolutive Interpretation: Truth Not Current Consensus

• 4: Two Concepts of the Margin of Appreciation

• Introduction

• Theories of International Human Rights Law

• The Substantive Concept of the Margin of Appreciation

• The Structural Concept of the Margin of Appreciation

• Consensus and Public Morals

• 5: Liberal Principles of Human Rights Interpretation

• Introduction

• Rights, Interests, and Reasons

• Liberal Egalitarian Theories of Rights: Rawls and Dworkin

• Rawls's Theory of Rights

• Dworkin's Rights as Trumps

• Liberal Egalitarian Principles for the Interpretation of the Limitation Clauses

• 6: Public Morals, Consensus, and Rights Inflation: A Critque

• Introduction

• Public Morals and the Moralistic Preferences of the Majority

• Consensus, Piecemeal Evolution, and Legality

• Rights Inflation: Hatton and the Right to Sleep Well