European Court of Human Rights as a Pathway to Impunity for International Crimes

This book presents contentious case rulings by the European Court of Human Rights providing extensive case notes and questions. The book elucidates just how the Court came in those cases to contribute to lack of State accountability and to impunity for individual perpetrators of international crimes. Issues addressed include the Court's: derogation of the jus cogens nature of certain fundamental human rights, grant of State immunity from any liability for systemic torture, unjustified failure to classify certain European Convention on Human Rights violations as international crimes; and improper declining of jurisdiction where States participated in a U.N. peace-building mission that itself involved serious violations of the U.N. Charter human rights principles. The book argues that the moral integrity of the Court's rulings (rulings that promote and protect international human rights) is an essential aspect of promoting the internationalization of the rule of law.

This book presents contentious rulings by the European Court of Human Rights. It argues that the moral integrity of the Court's rulings supporting and protecting human rights is an essential aspect of promoting the internationalization of the rule of law.

This book presents contentious case rulings by the European Court of Human Rights providing extensive case notes and questions. The book elucidates just how the Court came in those cases to contribute to lack of State accountability and to impunity for individual perpetrators of international crimes. Issues addressed include the Court's: derogation of the jus cogens nature of certain fundamental human rights, grant of State immunity from any liability for systemic torture, unjustified failure to classify certain European Convention on Human Rights violations as international crimes; and improper declining of jurisdiction where States participated in a U.N. peace-building mission that itself involved serious violations of the U.N. Charter human rights principles. The book argues that the moral integrity of the Court's rulings (rulings that promote and protect international human rights) is an essential aspect of promoting the internationalization of the rule of law.

Aus den Rezensionen: "... hier vorliegenden Monographie anerkennt diesen Umstand, unterzieht die Judikatur des EGMR jedoch einer kritischen Betrachtung. ... Die Autorin ubt schwerwiegende Kritik an der Judikatur des EGMR, begrundet ihre Aussagen jedoch stichhaltig anhand zahlreicher konkreter Falle, deren Inhalt sie ausfuhrlich wiedergibt. Insgesamt ist eine derartige Betrachtung des europaischen Systems A"von aussenA" durchaus wunschenswert, da auf diesem Weg unter Umstanden leichter uber die positiven Effekte und Errungenschaften des EGMR hinausgeblickt und zu einer konstruktiven Fortentwicklung des internationalen Menschenrechtsschutzes beigetragen werden kann." (Petra Pann, in: NLMR Newsletter Menschenrechte, 2010, Issue 5, S. 327)

Sonja C. Grover, Ph.D., is a Professor with Lakehead University, Canada. She has authored 7 books and over 80 refereed articles; over 60 on the topic of human rights published in leading international human rights and law journals, has presented numerous international conference papers and published book chapters in this field. She has also written several books on children's human rights including, "Children's Human Rights: Challenging Global Barriers to the Child Liberation Movement" (2007); "The Child's Right to Legal Standing" (2008) and a major reference book, "Prosecuting International Crimes and Human Rights Abuses Committed Against Children: Leading International Court Cases" (2009).