Human Rights Law 2021-2022
Human Rights Law
Inhoud
Part 0) introduction................................................................................................................................6
Part 1) The concept of Human Right.......................................................................................................7
1.1) Terminology.................................................................................................................................7
1.2) The legal sources of human rights...............................................................................................9
1.3) The Historical perspective on Human rights..............................................................................13
1.4) The absence of a hierarchy between the human rights (No Hierarchy)....................................16
Part 2) Universal protection (United Nations)......................................................................................17
2.1) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR 1948) (p. 9-12).................................................17
2.2) Human rights treaties................................................................................................................18
2.3) Universal mechanisms...............................................................................................................19
2.3.1) Treaty based mechanisms: committees.............................................................................20
2.3.2) Charter-based: political mechanisms..................................................................................21
2.3.3) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights...........................................................23
2.4) Illustration.................................................................................................................................24
2.4.1 Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human
rights.............................................................................................................................................24
2.4.2. CERD: the added value of the concluding observations......................................................25
Part 3) Regional protection: Europe.....................................................................................................27
3.1) Two Europe’s.............................................................................................................................27
3.1.1) The council of Europe.........................................................................................................28
3.1.2) European Union..................................................................................................................29
3.1.3) Relationship CoE and EU.....................................................................................................31
3.2) The council of Europe................................................................................................................36
3.2.1) European Court of Human Rights.......................................................................................36
3.2.2) The European committee social rights (ECSR)....................................................................55
3.3) European Union.........................................................................................................................59
3.3.1) political enforcement.........................................................................................................60
3.3.2) Judicial enforcement..........................................................................................................64
Part 4) Jurisdiction and extra-territoriality...........................................................................................70
4.1) Sources......................................................................................................................................70
4.2) Article 1 ECHR: jurisdiction........................................................................................................70
4.2.1) Principle: jurisdiction is in essence territorial.....................................................................71
4.2.2) jurisdiction as long as there is de facto or de jure control over a territory.........................73
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4.2.3) Extra-territorial jurisdiction................................................................................................74
4.2.4) example and application: migrants.....................................................................................76
4.3) Attribution instead of territoriality............................................................................................77
4.4) International obligations...........................................................................................................79
Case and questions...........................................................................................................................81
Part 5) National protection: Belgium....................................................................................................84
5.1) Relationship between the legal orders : effect of the human rights treaties in Belgium...........84
5.1.1) The direct effect of HR treaties...........................................................................................85
5.1.2) Provisions with no direct effect..........................................................................................86
5.1.3) Constitution versus ECHR/EU.............................................................................................87
5.1.4) Implementation of EU law versus ECHR.............................................................................90
5.2) Human rights protection in Belgium..........................................................................................90
5.2.1) Preventive legal protection.................................................................................................90
5.2.2) A posteriori judicial review.................................................................................................91
5.2.3) Execution of ECtHR judgments in Belgium..........................................................................94
5.2.4) An effective remedy (article 13 ECHR)................................................................................95
Part 6) Typology of Human Rights........................................................................................................97
6.1) Interpretating open norms........................................................................................................98
6.1.1) The Vienna convention on the law of treaties....................................................................98
6.1.2) Interpretation methods used by Human Rights Courts......................................................98
6.1.3) The “margin of appreciation” theory................................................................................100
6.2) Typology of the states obligations...........................................................................................103
6.2.1) The negative obligations of the state (obligation to respect)...........................................107
6.2.2) The positive obligations of the state.................................................................................115
6.3) Derogable rights in time of emergency...................................................................................117
6.3.1) The ratio legis...................................................................................................................117
6.3.2) the requirements of 15 ECHR...........................................................................................118
6.3.3) The practical significance of 15 ECHR in case law.............................................................120
6.3.4) Various Legal Frameworks for Various Rights...................................................................121
Case and questions (p. 184)............................................................................................................122
Part 7) the right to life........................................................................................................................125
7.1) An absolute right.....................................................................................................................125
7.2) The scope of the right to life....................................................................................................126
7.3) Obligations..............................................................................................................................130
7.3.1) Negative obligation...........................................................................................................130
7.3.2) Positive obligations...........................................................................................................134
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7.4) Examples and evolution of the right to life (positive obligations)............................................137
7.4.1) Protection against risk emanating from authorities.........................................................137
7.4.2) Protection against risks emanating from other individuals..............................................138
7.4.3) Protection against yourself...............................................................................................139
7.4.5) the procedural obligation.................................................................................................140
7.4.5bis) examples of the procedural obligation........................................................................141
Case and questions (p. 235) EXAM QUESTION!!.............................................................................145
8.1) Absolute right.........................................................................................................................148
8.2) Legal framework......................................................................................................................149
8.2.1) Applicability......................................................................................................................149
8.2.2) Classification.....................................................................................................................150
8.2.3) Obligations........................................................................................................................152
8.2.4) Burden of proof................................................................................................................153
8.3) examples of the prohibition of torture....................................................................................154
8.3.1) Police violence..................................................................................................................154
8.3.2) Corporal punishment of children......................................................................................156
8.3.3) Detention..........................................................................................................................158
8.3.4) Domestic violence against woman...................................................................................160
8.3.5) The extradition of foreigners............................................................................................161
Case and questions (p. 283)............................................................................................................164
Part 9) the right to liberty...................................................................................................................165
9.1) Relative right...........................................................................................................................166
9.2) Applicability.............................................................................................................................167
9.3) Exhaustive list of permissible grounds (art. 5, §1)...................................................................170
9.4) Procedural obligations (art. 5, §2 – art. 5, §5).........................................................................173
Case and questions (p. 306)............................................................................................................175
Part 10) Right to a fair trail.................................................................................................................178
10.1) The right to a fair trial: applicability.......................................................................................179
10.1.1) The determination of civil rights.....................................................................................179
10.1.2) The determination of a criminal charge..........................................................................181
10.2) A: Example of ‘civil’ rights: civil servants?.............................................................................182
10.3) Example ‘criminal’ charge......................................................................................................185
10.4) The right to a fair trial: guarantees........................................................................................186
10.4.1) article 6 is a “specific” relative right...............................................................................186
10.4.2) The different guarantees................................................................................................187
Case and questions: art. 6 ECHR (p. 386)........................................................................................204
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Part 11) The right to respect for private life.......................................................................................208
11.1) The scope..............................................................................................................................208
11.2) Negative obligations..............................................................................................................209
11.2.1) legal framework..............................................................................................................209
11.2.2) Negative obligation: prohibition of abortion..................................................................211
11.2.3) Negative obligations: Data processing............................................................................212
11.2.4) Negative obligation: the prohibition of medically assisted procreation.........................214
11.3) Positive obligations................................................................................................................216
11.3.1) The obligation to protect the environment?..................................................................216
11.3.2) The access to personal data/information.......................................................................217
11.3.2bis) The GDPR...................................................................................................................219
11.3.3) The obligation to protect the personal integrity.............................................................221
Part 11) The right to respect for family life.........................................................................................221
11.1) the scope of the respect for family life..................................................................................221
11.2) Negative obligations..............................................................................................................222
11.3) Positive obligations................................................................................................................224
Case and questions (p. 439)............................................................................................................225
1) case about S and Marper........................................................................................................225
Part 12) The freedom of assembly and association............................................................................228
12.1) the scope of article 11 ECHR..................................................................................................228
12.1.1) General...........................................................................................................................228
12.1.2) “association”: only private organizations.......................................................................229
12.1.3) Specific professional categories......................................................................................229
12.2) The freedom of assembly and association.............................................................................230
12.3) Union freedom......................................................................................................................232
12.3.1) Negative obligations.......................................................................................................233
12.3.2) Positive obligations.........................................................................................................233
12.4) Right to strike?......................................................................................................................235
12.4.1 Negative obligation: ECSR 13 September 2011................................................................235
12.4.2 Positive obligation...........................................................................................................237
Part 13) Economic, social and cultural rights......................................................................................237
13.1) The legal resources................................................................................................................237
13.1.1) The concept....................................................................................................................237
13.1.2) Treaties...........................................................................................................................241
13.1.3) Relative rights -limitations..............................................................................................241
13.1.4) protecting the most vulnerable: Austerity measures.....................................................242
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Human Rights Law
Inhoud
Part 0) introduction................................................................................................................................6
Part 1) The concept of Human Right.......................................................................................................7
1.1) Terminology.................................................................................................................................7
1.2) The legal sources of human rights...............................................................................................9
1.3) The Historical perspective on Human rights..............................................................................13
1.4) The absence of a hierarchy between the human rights (No Hierarchy)....................................16
Part 2) Universal protection (United Nations)......................................................................................17
2.1) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR 1948) (p. 9-12).................................................17
2.2) Human rights treaties................................................................................................................18
2.3) Universal mechanisms...............................................................................................................19
2.3.1) Treaty based mechanisms: committees.............................................................................20
2.3.2) Charter-based: political mechanisms..................................................................................21
2.3.3) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights...........................................................23
2.4) Illustration.................................................................................................................................24
2.4.1 Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human
rights.............................................................................................................................................24
2.4.2. CERD: the added value of the concluding observations......................................................25
Part 3) Regional protection: Europe.....................................................................................................27
3.1) Two Europe’s.............................................................................................................................27
3.1.1) The council of Europe.........................................................................................................28
3.1.2) European Union..................................................................................................................29
3.1.3) Relationship CoE and EU.....................................................................................................31
3.2) The council of Europe................................................................................................................36
3.2.1) European Court of Human Rights.......................................................................................36
3.2.2) The European committee social rights (ECSR)....................................................................55
3.3) European Union.........................................................................................................................59
3.3.1) political enforcement.........................................................................................................60
3.3.2) Judicial enforcement..........................................................................................................64
Part 4) Jurisdiction and extra-territoriality...........................................................................................70
4.1) Sources......................................................................................................................................70
4.2) Article 1 ECHR: jurisdiction........................................................................................................70
4.2.1) Principle: jurisdiction is in essence territorial.....................................................................71
4.2.2) jurisdiction as long as there is de facto or de jure control over a territory.........................73
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4.2.3) Extra-territorial jurisdiction................................................................................................74
4.2.4) example and application: migrants.....................................................................................76
4.3) Attribution instead of territoriality............................................................................................77
4.4) International obligations...........................................................................................................79
Case and questions...........................................................................................................................81
Part 5) National protection: Belgium....................................................................................................84
5.1) Relationship between the legal orders : effect of the human rights treaties in Belgium...........84
5.1.1) The direct effect of HR treaties...........................................................................................85
5.1.2) Provisions with no direct effect..........................................................................................86
5.1.3) Constitution versus ECHR/EU.............................................................................................87
5.1.4) Implementation of EU law versus ECHR.............................................................................90
5.2) Human rights protection in Belgium..........................................................................................90
5.2.1) Preventive legal protection.................................................................................................90
5.2.2) A posteriori judicial review.................................................................................................91
5.2.3) Execution of ECtHR judgments in Belgium..........................................................................94
5.2.4) An effective remedy (article 13 ECHR)................................................................................95
Part 6) Typology of Human Rights........................................................................................................97
6.1) Interpretating open norms........................................................................................................98
6.1.1) The Vienna convention on the law of treaties....................................................................98
6.1.2) Interpretation methods used by Human Rights Courts......................................................98
6.1.3) The “margin of appreciation” theory................................................................................100
6.2) Typology of the states obligations...........................................................................................103
6.2.1) The negative obligations of the state (obligation to respect)...........................................107
6.2.2) The positive obligations of the state.................................................................................115
6.3) Derogable rights in time of emergency...................................................................................117
6.3.1) The ratio legis...................................................................................................................117
6.3.2) the requirements of 15 ECHR...........................................................................................118
6.3.3) The practical significance of 15 ECHR in case law.............................................................120
6.3.4) Various Legal Frameworks for Various Rights...................................................................121
Case and questions (p. 184)............................................................................................................122
Part 7) the right to life........................................................................................................................125
7.1) An absolute right.....................................................................................................................125
7.2) The scope of the right to life....................................................................................................126
7.3) Obligations..............................................................................................................................130
7.3.1) Negative obligation...........................................................................................................130
7.3.2) Positive obligations...........................................................................................................134
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7.4) Examples and evolution of the right to life (positive obligations)............................................137
7.4.1) Protection against risk emanating from authorities.........................................................137
7.4.2) Protection against risks emanating from other individuals..............................................138
7.4.3) Protection against yourself...............................................................................................139
7.4.5) the procedural obligation.................................................................................................140
7.4.5bis) examples of the procedural obligation........................................................................141
Case and questions (p. 235) EXAM QUESTION!!.............................................................................145
8.1) Absolute right.........................................................................................................................148
8.2) Legal framework......................................................................................................................149
8.2.1) Applicability......................................................................................................................149
8.2.2) Classification.....................................................................................................................150
8.2.3) Obligations........................................................................................................................152
8.2.4) Burden of proof................................................................................................................153
8.3) examples of the prohibition of torture....................................................................................154
8.3.1) Police violence..................................................................................................................154
8.3.2) Corporal punishment of children......................................................................................156
8.3.3) Detention..........................................................................................................................158
8.3.4) Domestic violence against woman...................................................................................160
8.3.5) The extradition of foreigners............................................................................................161
Case and questions (p. 283)............................................................................................................164
Part 9) the right to liberty...................................................................................................................165
9.1) Relative right...........................................................................................................................166
9.2) Applicability.............................................................................................................................167
9.3) Exhaustive list of permissible grounds (art. 5, §1)...................................................................170
9.4) Procedural obligations (art. 5, §2 – art. 5, §5).........................................................................173
Case and questions (p. 306)............................................................................................................175
Part 10) Right to a fair trail.................................................................................................................178
10.1) The right to a fair trial: applicability.......................................................................................179
10.1.1) The determination of civil rights.....................................................................................179
10.1.2) The determination of a criminal charge..........................................................................181
10.2) A: Example of ‘civil’ rights: civil servants?.............................................................................182
10.3) Example ‘criminal’ charge......................................................................................................185
10.4) The right to a fair trial: guarantees........................................................................................186
10.4.1) article 6 is a “specific” relative right...............................................................................186
10.4.2) The different guarantees................................................................................................187
Case and questions: art. 6 ECHR (p. 386)........................................................................................204
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Part 11) The right to respect for private life.......................................................................................208
11.1) The scope..............................................................................................................................208
11.2) Negative obligations..............................................................................................................209
11.2.1) legal framework..............................................................................................................209
11.2.2) Negative obligation: prohibition of abortion..................................................................211
11.2.3) Negative obligations: Data processing............................................................................212
11.2.4) Negative obligation: the prohibition of medically assisted procreation.........................214
11.3) Positive obligations................................................................................................................216
11.3.1) The obligation to protect the environment?..................................................................216
11.3.2) The access to personal data/information.......................................................................217
11.3.2bis) The GDPR...................................................................................................................219
11.3.3) The obligation to protect the personal integrity.............................................................221
Part 11) The right to respect for family life.........................................................................................221
11.1) the scope of the respect for family life..................................................................................221
11.2) Negative obligations..............................................................................................................222
11.3) Positive obligations................................................................................................................224
Case and questions (p. 439)............................................................................................................225
1) case about S and Marper........................................................................................................225
Part 12) The freedom of assembly and association............................................................................228
12.1) the scope of article 11 ECHR..................................................................................................228
12.1.1) General...........................................................................................................................228
12.1.2) “association”: only private organizations.......................................................................229
12.1.3) Specific professional categories......................................................................................229
12.2) The freedom of assembly and association.............................................................................230
12.3) Union freedom......................................................................................................................232
12.3.1) Negative obligations.......................................................................................................233
12.3.2) Positive obligations.........................................................................................................233
12.4) Right to strike?......................................................................................................................235
12.4.1 Negative obligation: ECSR 13 September 2011................................................................235
12.4.2 Positive obligation...........................................................................................................237
Part 13) Economic, social and cultural rights......................................................................................237
13.1) The legal resources................................................................................................................237
13.1.1) The concept....................................................................................................................237
13.1.2) Treaties...........................................................................................................................241
13.1.3) Relative rights -limitations..............................................................................................241
13.1.4) protecting the most vulnerable: Austerity measures.....................................................242
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