Shifting Centres of Gravity in Human Rights Protection - Rethinking Relations between the ECHR, EU, and National Legal Orders

The protection of human rights in Europe is currently at a crossroads. There are competing processes which push and pull the centre of gravity of this protection between the ECHR system in Strasbourg, the EU system in Luxemburg and Brussels, and the national protection of human rights. This book brings together researchers from the fields of international human rights law, EU law and constitutional law to reflect on the tug-of-war over the positioning of the centre of gravity of human rights protection in Europe. It addresses both the position of the Convention system vis-à-vis the Contracting States, and its positioning with respect to fundamental rights protection in the European Union. The first part of the book focuses on interactions in this triangle from an institutional and constitutional point of view and reflects on how the key actors are trying to define their relationship with one another in a never-ending process. Having thus set the scene, the second part takes a critical look at the tools that have been developed at European level for navigating these complex relationships, in order to identify whether they are capable of responding effectively to the complexities of emerging realities in the triangular relationship between the EHCR, EU law and national law.

1. Introduction, Oddný Mjöll Arnardóttir and Antoine Buyse Part I: In Search of a Centre of Gravity 2. The Paradox of Human Rights Protection in Europe: Two Courts, One Goal? Xavier Groussot, Nina-Louisa Arold Lorenz and Gunnar Thor Petursson 3. The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in the Changing European Human Rights Architecture, Davíð Þór Björgvinsson 4. The European Court of Human Rights and National Courts: A Constitutional Relationship?, Geir Ulfstein 5. National Courts and Judicial Disobedience to the ECHR: A Comparative Overview, Giuseppe Martinico 6. The Advisory Jurisdiction of the ECtHR under Protocol No.16: Enhancing Domestic Implementation of Human Rights or a Symbolic Step? Björg Thorarensen Part II: European Rights and National Implementation: Rethinking the status quo 7. Flying or Landing? The Pilot Judgment Procedure in the Changing European Human Rights Architecture Antoine Buyse 8. The Court of Justice and Fundamental Rights: If Margin of Appreciation is the Solution, What is the Problem? Niamh Nic Shuibhne 9. From Flexible to Variable Standards of Judicial Review: The Responsible Domestic Courts Doctrine at the European Court of Human Rights Başak Çalı 10. Speaking the Same Language? Comparing Judicial Restraint at the ECtHR and the ECJ Oddný Mjöll Arnardóttir and Dóra Guðmundsdóttir 11. Squaring the Circe at the Battle at Brighton: Is the War between Protecting Human Rights or Respecting Sovereignty Over, or Has it Just Begun?, Andreas Follesdal