Exporting the Margin of Appreciation
The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in Shaping a General Principle on the Exercise of the International Judicial Function
In: The Law & Practice of International Courts and TribunalsPh.D. in “International and European Law”, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris France
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Abstract
It was in 1976 when, in the case of Handyside v. the United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights held that the European Convention on Human Rights “leaves to the Contracting States a margin of appreciation”. Forty-five years later, in 2021, Protocol No. 15 entered into force and incorporated the “margin of appreciation” into the Preamble of the ECHR. For a long time, the doctrine has been considered a unique feature of the European human rights system, consistently ignored or explicitly rejected by other international adjudicators. This article aims to assess whether the recent international judicial practice still confirms such a conclusion, or whether the margin has migrated across the case law of different international courts and is, nowadays, a doctrine that can be applied to the assessment of the scope and content of international obligations and to the review of compliance with such obligations in general.
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| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 253 | 253 | 36 |
| Full Text Views | 42 | 42 | 2 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 199 | 199 | 35 |
Exporting the Margin of Appreciation
The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in Shaping a General Principle on the Exercise of the International Judicial Function
In: The Law & Practice of International Courts and TribunalsPh.D. in “International and European Law”, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris France
Search for other papers by Lorenzo Acconciamessa in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
It was in 1976 when, in the case of Handyside v. the United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights held that the European Convention on Human Rights “leaves to the Contracting States a margin of appreciation”. Forty-five years later, in 2021, Protocol No. 15 entered into force and incorporated the “margin of appreciation” into the Preamble of the ECHR. For a long time, the doctrine has been considered a unique feature of the European human rights system, consistently ignored or explicitly rejected by other international adjudicators. This article aims to assess whether the recent international judicial practice still confirms such a conclusion, or whether the margin has migrated across the case law of different international courts and is, nowadays, a doctrine that can be applied to the assessment of the scope and content of international obligations and to the review of compliance with such obligations in general.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 253 | 253 | 36 |
| Full Text Views | 42 | 42 | 2 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 199 | 199 | 35 |