The concept of the rule of law and the European Court of Human Rights

This book analyses the concept of the rule of law in the context of international law, through the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. It investigates how the court has defined and interpreted the notion of the rule of law in its jurisprudence. It places this analysis against a background of more theoretical accounts of the idea of the rule of law, drawing in ideas of political philosophy. It also provides a comparative assessment, demonstrating how the idea of the rule of law has evolved in the UK, France, and Germany. The book argues that at the core of the concept of the rule of law are the notions of legality and judicial safeguards. It states that the Court has developed the requirements of legality, which the work analyses in detail, based on that concept. It assesses the independence of the judiciary as an aspect of the rule of law in the context of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the relationship between the rule of law and the substantive contents of law. The book posits that the rule of law as seen at the Court is not mainly utilised with regard to "freedom" rights, but is more concerned with procedural rights. It discusses the relationship between the rule of law and the view of the Convention as a constitutional instrument of the European public order, and shows that the rule of law and democracy are inextricably linked in the case law of the Court. Ultimately, the book demonstrates in its analysis of the Court's jurisprudence that the notion of the rule of law is a crucial part of the international legal order.

• Table of Cases and International Instruments p. xiii
• List of Abbreviations p. xxiii
• 1 Introduction p. 1
• 1 Background of the Research p. 1
• 1.1 The upsurge of the rule of law debate p. 1
• 1.2 The rule of law as a standard for the international legal system p. 3
• 1.3 An international rule of law standard directed at states p. 6
• 2 Focus of the Research p. 9
• 2.1 The European Convention on Human Rights p. 9
• 2.2 The rule of law as a value underlying the Convention p. 11
• 3 Outline and Methodology p. 15
• 2 The Rule of Law Concept p. 18
• 1 Introduction p. 18
• 2 Approaches to the Rule of Law Concept p. 19
• 2.1 Elements of the rule of law p. 19
• 2.2 Aims of the rule of law p. 21
• 2.3 National forms of the rule of law p. 24
• 2.4 Analysis p. 35
• 3 Legality: The Central Element of the Rule of Law Concept p. 37
• 3.1 Different forms of legality p. 37
• 3.2 Quality requirements of legality p. 38
• 3.3 Judicial safeguards as requirements of legality p. 42
• 3.4 Legality setting limits to governmental power p. 44
• 3.5 Legality and the substantive aims of law p. 45
• 4 Separation of Powers, Judicial Safeguards, and the Rule of Law p. 49
• 4.1 The separation of powers doctrine p. 49
• 4.2 Safeguards by an independent judiciary p. 51
• 5 The Relation between Human Rights and the Rule of Law p. 54
• 5.1 Procedural human rights p. 55
• 5.2 Human rights and limited government p. 57
• 5.3 Human rights and the substantive contents of law p. 60
• 6 The Relation between Democracy and the Rule of Law p. 62
• 6.1 Democracy defined as majority rule p. 62
• 6.2 Democracy defined as the self-rule of the people p. 64
• 7 Conclusion p. 67
• 3 The Legality Concept in the Case Law p. 70
• 1 Introduction p. 70
• 2 The Role and Function of Legality in the Case Law p. 71
• 2.1 The Convention articles referring to legality p. 71
• 2.2 The term legality p. 73
• 2.3 The importance of legality for the protection of Convention rights p. 74
• 2.4 The requirements of legality derived from the rule of law p. 76
• 3 The Existence of a National Law p. 79
• 3.1 The fourth instance doctrine p. 80
• 3.2 The material view on domestic law p. 83
• 3.3 Analysis p. 85
• 4 The Quality Requirements set to National Law p. 86
• 4.1 Accessibility p. 87
• 4.2 Foreseeability p. 88
• 4.3 Judicial safeguards as a requirement of legality p. 101
• 4.4 Non-retroactivity in criminal cases p. 105
• 4.5 Quality requirements of legality concerning the right to liberty p. 110
• 4.6 A limited role of generality in reviewing the quality of the law p. 112
• 4.7 Analysis p. 113
• 5 Differentiating Legality from Proportionality p. 117
• 6 Conclusion p. 121
• 4 Judicial Safeguards p. 124
• 1 Introduction p. 124
• 2 The Right to a Fair Trial p. 125
• 2.1 The detailed guarantees of the right to a fair trial p. 125
• 2.2 Access to court derived from the rule of law p. 128
• 2.3 The scope of the right of access to court p. 130
• 2.4 Limitations of the right of access to court p. 137
• 2.5 The authority of judicial decisions p. 146
• 2.6 Analysis p. 150
• 3 Judicial Safeguards beyond the Right to a Fair Trial p. 153
• 3.1 The authority of the judiciary p. 153
• 3.2 Judicial safeguards protecting the right to liberty p. 154
• 3.3 The right to an effective remedy p. 155
• 3.4 Analysis p. 158
• 4 Separation of Powers and Independent Judiciary in the Case Law p. 159
• 4.1 The growing importance of the separation of powers doctrine p. 159
• 4.2 A general standard of independence p. 162
• 4.3 Independence and impartiality p. 164
• 4.4 A tribunal established by law p. 167
• 4.5 Analysis p. 168
• 5 Conclusion p. 170
• 5 The Substantive Contents of Law p. 173
• 1 Introduction p. 173
• 2 Procedural Convention rights p. 174
• 3 The Rule of Law and Individual Freedom p. 178
• 3.1 The changing focus of the Convention p. 178
• 3.2 The rule of law most relevant to protect individual freedom p. 180
• 3.3 The rule of law and positive obligations p. 181
• 4 The Rule of Law and the Substantive Contents of Law p. 185
• 4.1 Legality and a hierarchy of norms p. 185
• 4.2 The Convention as a constitutional instrument p. 186
• 5 Conclusion p. 191
• 6 Democracy p. 193
• 1 Introduction p. 193
• 2 Defining Democracy p. 193
• 2.1 Democracy based on pluralism and participation p. 193
• 2.2 The only political model compatible with the Convention p. 196
• 2.3 The importance of judicial safeguards to democracy p. 198
• 2.4 Analysis p. 200
• 3 The Rule of Law Requiring Democracy p. 200
• 3.1 The democratic heritage of norms p. 201
• 3.2 Democracy governed by the rule of law p. 206
• 4 Conclusion p. 208
• 7 Conclusion p. 210
• Bibliography p. 219
• Index p. 233