Unit 23 The Protection of HumaN Rights in Europe

Unit 23TheProtectionof HumaN Rightsin Europe

Preparatory exercise • Do the exercise I, text book, p. 228 • Explain in which concrete life situations the given right / freedom plays a significant role – provide examples • Do the exercise II, text book, p. 229

TheCouncilof Europe • Permanent seat in Strasbourg, France • Palace of Europe

World war ii  new europeanunity • preventionof new totalitarianregimes, fosteringpeace / democracy protectionoffundamental human rightsandfreedoms • TheBrusselsTraty (March 1948) – the first attemptof a collectivedefencealliance: UK, France, Belgium, theNetherlandsand Luxembourg •  invitation to Ireland, Italy, Denmark, NorwayandSweden to attendtheconference on theestablishmentof a Council of Europe in London • Ten statessigntheStatute ofthe Council of Europe 5 May 1949 • It enteredintoforce on 3. August 1949 (ratification) • 47memberstatestoday

Thegoalsofthecouncil • Protectionof human rights Supportingparliamentarydemocracy The instrument to meet these goals ECHR = THE EUROEPAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The European Convention – a big achievement of the Council of Europe • The Convention lists fundamental freedoms and human rights • 15 member states of the Council signed the Convention in Rom 4 November 1950 • it entered into force 3 September 1953 → enforcement of the rights already stated in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 • The signing and ratification of the Convention = a precondition for the membership in the Council of Europe • Croatiahas signed it and has been a member of the Council since 6 November 1996, ratification of the Convention – 5. 11. 1997

Whichinstitutionhasthemission to enforcetheConvention? TheEuropean Court of Human RightsinStrasbourg

Text work Read the text p. 230 – 231 and answer the questions on the following slides by completing the statements.

Who canseekprotectionofthe Court? Potential applicants are: 1. An________________________________ (a company, an NGO, association or other legal entity)  lodging an ____________ applicaton 2. A _________– lodging an application against another state it is called an inter-state ______________

What are the PrerequisitEs for a complete application? • the applicant suffered _______________________ (the statement of the facts of the case) • the statement of alleged _________________ and/or its Protocols; • Reporting about __________exhausted in the country of the applicant including appeal procedures • ___________ time limit to address the ECtHR (starting from the date of the final decision of the domestic courts)

Which are the stages in a procedure before ECHR? • Admissibility stage includes _____________ _____________________________________ • Merits stage __________________________ _____________________________________ 3. Delivering a judgement a) scenario A _________________________ b) scenario B _________________________

The judges of the ECtHR • elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe upon the proposal of three candidates from each member state. • The Court - organised in five sections, each having a judicial chamber. • The 47 judges of the Court work in four different groups or judicial formations NATIONAL JUDGE FROM CROATIA Ksenija Turković Usethefollowing link to find more information on Croatia incasesbefore ECHR https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/CP_Croatia_ENG.pdf

Workofthejudges – 4 formations • a single judge- can decide about the admissibility of an application; • a committee, composed of 3 judges- can rule on the admissibility of cases as well as merits; • chamber of 7 judges decides about cases involving more complex issues • a grand chamber, composed of 17 judgeshears a small number of special cases mostly referred to it in an appeal procedure, or sent to it by a chamber because of the importance and novelty of the question raised in the case.

Twopossibleproceedingsbeforethe Grand chamber Read the text and explain the difference between the two proceedings: REFERRAL After a Chamber judgment has been delivered, the parties may request referral of the case to the Grand Chamber and such requests are accepted on an exceptional basis. A panel of judges of the Grand Chamber decides whether or not the case should be referred to the Grand Chamber for fresh consideration. RELINQUISHMENT Cases are also sent to the Grand Chamber when relinquished by a Chamber, although this is also exceptional. The Chamber to which a case is assigned can relinquish it to the Grand Chamber if the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention or if there is a risk of inconsistency with a previous judgment of the Court.

Summingup: Thepossibleoutcomesofthe procedure… • to apply for an amicable agreement 2. A judgement delivered by a chamber becomes finalafter the expiry of a three-month period 3. the applicant or Government may request the referral of the case to the Grand Chamber in an appeal procedure. →The judgment of the Grand Chamber is final.

ORGANS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE Readthetext, p. 231 andnamethemainorgans: • _________________ • _________________ • __________________

LANGUAGE WORK • Do the exercises VI and VII, p. 232

Part II – A CASE BEFORE ECHR Work on thecaseinthefollowingsteps: • Scanthetextandcompletethe table • Readthetextonceagainandpayattention to thequestionsintheexercise III • Comparethesection 15 fromthe Court΄s assessmentwiththeArticle 6 oftheConvention (p. 238, exercise V) • Do theexercise II, p. 236 • Write a shortopinion (120 – 200 words) aboutthe role of “caselaw” inthegivencase

Croatianversionofthejudgement Download the Croatian text of the judgement in the CASE ARPS v CROATIA and compare key expressions in English and Croatian E.g. Application, applican, merits, etc… • https://uredzastupnika.gov.hr/UserDocsImages//dokumenti/Presude%20i%20odluke//Arps%20protiv%20Hrvatske%20presuda.pdf

Analysethefollowingexpressions • to claim to be a victim of the violation of the Convention • to lodge an application with the Court • the breach of the Convention rights • individual applicants / state applications • to declare an application admissible/non-admissible • to institute civil proceedings • thelenghtof civil proceedings • thecaseliesdormant • thecourtoffirst instance deliveresjudgement • to obtain a finaldecisionwithin a reasonable time • a violationofthearticlexy • amicable agreement

Vocabulary practice – fill in the gaps. • The Member States of the Council of Europe _________ and ________ the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. • The _______________ of human rights is an aim of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Right as well as of the European Convention of Human Rights. • Judges of the ECtHR do not __________ any State and they have to act according to the principles of ___________ and ____________. • The number of judges in the ECtHR is equal to the number of ____________ States. 5. All the documents have to be __________ with the Court's Registry and they are __________ to the public. 6. Any individual can submit an ____________ at the ECtHR. 7. A __________ or ____________ of the Convention rights can be claimed by an individual or by a Contracting State. 8. Chambers of the ECtHR decide about the _____________ of an application. 9. There is a ________ ________ option for applicants who can not afford legal representation. 10.Right to a fair trail (Article 6) states that everyone is ____________ to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time.

Article 6 of the European Convention • In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgement shall be pronounced publicly by the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interest of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require, or the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice.

Article 6 of the European Convention – PART II • Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. • Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights: • (a) to be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him; • (b) to have adequate time and the facilities for the preparation of his defence; • (c) to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require; • (d) to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him; • (e) to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in court.

Case study, read the case p. 63 and answer the following questions. • Who is the applicant? • What kind of application is it? • Who is the other party in the dispute? • When was the application lodged with the European Court? • What was the reason for lodging the application? • Which right has been violated according to the applicant? • What was the decision of the European Court?

Translate into English: PREDMET RAJAK PROTIV HRVATSKE Postupak je pokrenut na temelju zahtjeva (br. 49706/99) protiv Hrvatske, a podnio ga je hrvatski državljanin Rajko Rajak (podnositelj zahtjeva) Europskom sudu za ljudska prava u skladu s konvencijom za zaštitu ljudskih prava i temeljnih sloboda dana 23. veljače 1999. Podnositelja zahtjeva je zastupao gosp. Zoran Novaković, odvjetnik iz Zagreba. Hrvatsku Vladu zastupala je njezina zastupnica, gđa Lidija Lukina-Karajković

Readthetextinthebook, p. 60 – 61 andanswerthefollowingquestions. • Which document was the basis for the development of the European Convention on Human Rights? • When was the European Convention signed? • Who signed the Convention? • Did the Convention enter into force at the moment of signing? • Which states normally ratify the Convention? • What is the main goal of the Convention as an international legal instrument? • Which European institution can decide about sanctions in case of the violation of human rights? • How wide is the influence of the Convention as a legal document? • How many judges work in the European Court of Human Rights? • Who elects the judges? • Are there any age limitations to judge office? • Who can lodge an application with the Court in Strasbourg in case of a breach of the Convention rights? • Which segments of the Court's work are public? • Is legal representation necessary for a procedure at the European Court of Human Rights? • Which are the official languages of the Court? • Can other languages be used?

Furtherreading on ECHR More information about the procedure in front of the ECHR can be found on the following link. • http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Guide_ECHR_lawyers_ENG.pdf Conduct a short research and report about additional information you have found.

Unit 23 The Protection of HumaN Rights in Europe