New rules about individual applications to the ECtHR
Bulletin readers will recall that there are new rules concerning individual applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which came into force on 1 July 2013. Implementation of the rules did not happen until 1 January 2014. Rule 47 of the ECtHR has been designed to enhance the Court’s efficiency and to speed up the examination of applications. This amendment to the rules introduced two major changes which are immediately applicable and will determine whether an application is rejected or allocated to a judicial formation.
Click here to read a pamphlet on how to lodge an application to the ECtHR and how applications will be processed.
President of the ECtHR responds to UK Justice Secretary’s comments on prisoners’ right to vote
The President of the European Court of Human Rights Judge Dean Spielmann has warned that it would be a “political disaster” for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. These comments came after the UK Justice Secretary Chris Grayling spoke openly of the possibility of defying an ECHR ruling on prisoners’ right to vote.
In 2005 the ECHR ruled that the UK’s ban on all prisoners voting was a breach of human rights, following a challenge by convicted killer John Hirst. In February 2013, MPs voted by 234 to 22 to keep the blanket ban, in response to a government proposal to give the vote to offenders handed a custodial sentence of less than four years. Mr Grayling told MPs that while ultimately they have the power to maintain the current ban, there would be a "political cost" in doing so.
Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed that inmates will not be given the right to vote under his government, saying the idea makes him feel "physically sick". No comments have been made as to whether the UK would be thrown out of the Council of Europe if it did defy the prisoner votes ruling.
Click here to watch Judge Spielmann’s full interview on the topic.
New publications
There have been two recent publications by Alexandra Timmer regarding vulnerability in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
The first examines the concept of “vulnerable groups”, an idea Ms Timmer says is gaining momentum in ECtHR case law. The concept has been used by the Court in cases concerning Roma, people with mental disabilities, people living with HIV, and asylum seekers. The article outlines the lack of legal reasoning about the concept and offers a more descriptive assessment of the concept.
Click here to read the article.
The second publication focuses on widening the inquiry beyond “vulnerable groups” to vulnerability more generally. First it discusses the concept of vulnerability and its relationship to human rights on a theoretical level. The piece then examines and critiques how the Court conceives of vulnerability: it charts who are seen as vulnerable according to the Court, and why.
Click here to read the article.