In Between Ambition and Caution: Assessing the European Court of Human Rights’ Integration of Soft Law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17561/tahrj.v27.10253Keywords:
soft law, hard law, , European Court of Human Rights,, European Convention on Human Rights, International lawAbstract
The European Court of Human Rights consistently and systematically integrates soft law instruments into its case law. However, the Court’s approach, and as a result its broader legitimacy, has been heavily scrutinized by member states. Member states question the Court’s interpretive practices and examine whether the Court creates new obligations for them that are not contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. This article analyses the Court’s use of soft law by scrutinizing its case law. The article explores the use of soft law in human rights adjudication within the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights, and uses the recent, controversial environmental rulings of the Court as the ultimate test case to evaluate member state criticisms. The article argues that the Court uses soft law instruments to concretize the member states’ obligations under legally binding instruments, without creating non-Conventional obligations.
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