Almost exactly 50 years ago, France ratified the Council of Europe's Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, known as the "European Convention on Human Rights" or ECHR.
With the mechanism of jurisdictional sanction established through the creation of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the ECHR has been able to exert an unparalleled influence on the interpretation and application of human rights. Two illustrious Frenchmen - René Cassin and Jean-Paul Costa - were its Presidents, and France is one of the countries where the Court's decisions have had the greatest impact on both case law and legislation, particularly criminal law.
"High-impact" decisions include those on telephone tapping, the presence of a lawyer from the first hour of police custody, legal aid, freedom of the press and the protection of journalists, and the rights of asylum seekers. Among the human rights enshrined in the ECHR, the right to an "independent and impartial" tribunal has been given pride of place.
This almost sacrosanct right to have recourse to a judge has accompanied, even encouraged, the extreme judicialization we are currently witnessing, particularly in France. Moreover, the Court's rulings are more widely criticized today than ever before. The United Kingdom, for example, reacted to the Court's condemnation of its law allowing a judge to disenfranchise a prisoner serving a life sentence. This led to the adoption of Protocol no. 15 to the Convention (which came into force in 2021), reminding the Court to respect the principle of subsidiarity.
It is not certain that the message has been fully heard. In any case, recent judgments suggest that the Court has no intention of relinquishing its discretionary margin of appreciation versus the narrowly limited margin granted to States challenged before it. The ruling on France's obligation to repatriate the families of jihadists who have left for Syria, and last April's condemnation of Switzerland following the rejection of a climate law by referendum, have every reason to be the subject of much ink. Just as the democratic backsliding of certain Council of Europe member states under the Court's jurisdiction should make us wonder.
That's why we welcome the initiative taken by Cercle Droit & Liberté to organize a major symposium on May 25 to mark the 50th anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights. I'm delighted to be taking part, along with some of the world's leading experts on the subject : Vincent BERGER, Bruno Daugeron, Grégor Puppinc,k Andriantsimbazovina Joel, Javier Borrego Borrego, Jim Kelly, Pierre Manent et Lénárd Sándor.
To register: https://www.helloasso.com/associations/cercle-droit-et-liberte/evenements/cedh
