- PROCEDURAL STATUS OF INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS BEFORE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COURTS The position of international NGOs within the system of international law or specifically their position before individual international bodies is a topic that the international law theory does not consider very much. Hence, this master's thesis aims to present what role do the international NGOs play in the international arena and particularly places the focus on the procedural roles they may take upon in the european and the inter-american human rights systems. The thesis is divided into 3 main parts and several chapters. The first part deals with the history of international NGOs and delimiting the term. Regarding the latter several definitions are presented and assessed and the differences between the international NGOs and transnational corporations are drawn. The thesis then explores the position of international NGOs as subjects of international law and their role in human rights protection which reflects the topis of the thesis. The second part is devoted to particular roles of international NGOs before the selected courts. The first chapter deconstructs the institute of amicus curiae including the way it is embeded into the systems of both courts and the way it is made use of. This...

The thesis seeks to answer the question whether the European Union (EU) constitutional treaty offers improved protection for human rights in the EU jurisdiction. Within this context, it first seeks to find out what the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the constitutional treaty promises for the human rights&rsquo / field. Furthermore, it examines how the possible accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights will affect this field. Then, it focuses on what the constitutional treaty offers for third countries concerning human rights. Finally, in the light of the recent developments on the treaty, the discussion enlightens the role of the constitutional treaty on protecting and developing human rights in the EU.

The thesis contain analysis of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in cases related to conflicts caused by information disseminated in media. Analysis is presented by the main criteria used by the European Court of Human Rights while giving judgments in cases related to the restraints of the freedom od media.The contents of the freedom of media, as one of the parts of the freedom of expression protected by the European Convention of Human Rights, is specified on the basis of numerous examples of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

Homoseksualumas – lytinė orientacija, kuri paprastai suprantama kaip priešinga heteroseksualumui, nes pasižymi lytiniu potraukiu tos pačios lyties atstovams, ir todėl visuomenėje dažnai pripažįstama nukrypimu nuo normos, o tai suponuoja šių asmenų diskriminaciją. Darbe analizuojamos Europos Žmogaus Teisių Teismo praktikos tendencijos, susijusios su baudžiamosios atsakomybės už homoseksualius santykius panaikinimu, ginant šių asmenų teisę į privatumą. Atskleidžiama, kad Teismas pasisako prieš bet kokį baudžiamąjį persekiojimą, grindžiamą lytine orientacija, siekdamas, kad Europos Tarybos valstybėse būtų pripažįstamos ir saugomos homoseksualių asmenų teisės. Šiandien vis garsiau kalbama apie homoseksualių asmenų teisę į santuoką. Magistro baigiamajame darbe analizuojama EŽTT praktika, siekiant nustatyti, ar kartu gyvenančių homoseksualių asmenų santykiai patenka į šeimos gyvenimo apimtį. Be to, ar pagal Europos žmogaus teisių konvenciją valstybės turi pozityvią pareigą teisę į santuoką užtikrinti ne tik skirtingų lyčių poroms, t.y. neatsižvelgiant į lytinę orientaciją. Egzistuojantis registruotos partnerystės institutas yra alternatyvi forma įteisinti homoseksualius santykius, tad siekiama nustatyti, ar EŽTT įpareigoja valstybes suteikti minėtą galimybę tos pačios lyties poroms savo nacionalinėje teisėje. Homoseksualių asmenų teisė įsivaikinti yra viena iš kontraversiškiausių teisių, nes siejasi su vaiko teisėmis, jo geriausiais interesais. Tad magistro baigiamajame darbe yra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Homosexuality – sexual orientation which is the opposite of heterosexuality because it is characterized as sexual desire for persons of the same sex. That is why a society often acknowledges it like a deviation from norms and this may sometimes result as an act of discrimination. The Master’s thesis analyses the tendency of the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights which is related to abolishing the criminalisation of private homosexual relations. It is important because of defending the right to privacy of homosexuals. The Court speaks against criminal prosecution on the ground of sexual orientation and finds that Member States of the Council of Europe should recognize and protect the rights of homosexual persons. Today the discussions about the right to the same-sex marriage are becoming louder and louder. The thesis attempts to ascertain whether the cohabitation of homosexuals falls in the ambit of a family life according to the European Court of Human Rights as well as whether the Member States of the European Convention on Human Rights have a positive obligation to ensure the right to marry for the same-sex couples. Furthermore, the institute of a registered partnership is an alternative form for legalizing homosexual relationships. Thus, it is necessary to identify whether the Court puts an obligation to the Member States to make that opportunity for the same-sex couples in the national legal systems. The right of adoption of homosexuals is a highly... [to full text]

1950 m. visuotinis aplinkos apsaugos poreikis dar nebuvo akivaizdus, todėl teisė į aplinką nebuvo paminėta Europos žmogaus teisių ir pagrindinių laisvių apsaugos Konvencijoje. Dėl aplinkos taršos iškilo asmenų teisės į aplinką problema ir šios teisės gynimo būtinybė. Dėl šios priežasties galima teigti, kad Europos žmogaus Teisių Teismo praktikos vaidmuo aiškinant teises, įtrauktas į EŽTK, šiomis dienomis yra labai svarbus spendžiant aplinkos problemas žmogaus teisių kontekste. Teismas interpretuoja aplinkos teises kitų teisių, esančių EŽTK, pagrindu, įskaitant teisę į privatų ir šeimos gyvenimą. Kadangi tam tikra rimta žala aplinkai gali pažeisti ir asmenų teises, ypač teisę į privatumą ir būsto neliečiamumą, šiame magistro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjama EŽTK 8 straipsnio taikymo su aplinka susijusiose bylose problema. Magistriniame darbe siekiama išnagrinėti svarbiausius EŽTK 8 str. taikymo ginant pažeistas žmonių teises su aplinka susijusiose bylose ypatumus Europos Žmogaus Teisių Teismo jurisprudencijoje, ir šio straipsnio taikymą bei aiškinimą Lietuvos teismuose. Todėl yra analizuojami teismų sprendimai, susiję su aplinkos teisių pažeidimais, kylančiais dėl aplinkos būklės blogėjimo. Darbe nagrinėjamos Konvencijos 8 straipsnio taikymo sąlygos su aplinka susijusiose bylose. Jos yra dvi: ryšys tarp pažeidimo ir valstybės bei rimta tiesioginė žala, pasiekianti minimalų sunkumo lygį. Taip pat analizuojami šio straipsnio taikymo ypatumai. Pagrindiniai ypatumai yra susiję... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the 1950s, the universal need for environmental protection was not yet apparent, therefore there was no mention of right to environment in the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Due to pollution of natural environment, there arise an important problem of the human right to environment and the necessity of the protection of this right. For this reason it is possible to state that the role of the European Court of Human Rights practice and its interpretation of the rights, included in the ECHR, to respond environmental concerns within the context of human rights is especially relevant nowadays. Court interprets the environmental rights on the basis of other rights, which are included in the ECHR, including the right to private and family life. Since some serious damage to the environment may violate the rights of individuals and, in particular their right to privacy and the inviolability of home, in this master's final work a problem of the application of Article 8 ECHR in environment-related cases is examined. Master's Work seeks to examine the most important specificities of application of Article 8 of the ECHR in defending violated human rights in environment-related cases in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the application and interpretation of this Article in the courts of Lithuania. Therefore the judgments, related to interference in individual rights derived from environmental degradation, are analyzed. It examines... [to full text]

The main goal of this master’s writing is to analyze the impact European Court of Human Rights case law to contemporary civil procedure law. This work consists of three parts. The creativity of the European Court of Human Rights is analyzing in the first part of work. Rights of access to the court and restrictions on access are analyzing in the second part of the work. Right to a fair hearing is analyzing in the last part of the work. The main attention is concentrated to these fair hearing principles, wish has been developed by the Court – right to an independent and impartial court, right to a public hearing, right to a hearing in a reasonable time.

The dissertation aims to develop an understanding of the outcomes and limitations of formal and informal control of the Swedish state, and of the positions and strategies of the social agents involved in this field. The dissertation contributes with new perspectives on controls directed at the state, comparing various control organs (the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Chancellor of Justice, the United Nations, the European Court of Human Rights and NGOs) and focusing on a wide range of wrongs and harms by the Swedish state. Paper I explores incidents for which the Swedish state and its agencies have been judged to be responsible by formal control organs. Paper II analyzes the accounts used by state representatives in judgments from formal control organs on issues related to migration. Paper III examines the characteristics of those who hold the state accountable via the European Court. Paper IV explores how formal and informal control organs frame problems in relation to the Swedish state’s treatment of residence permit applicants. The studies demonstrate that formal domestic control organs mainly direct criticisms at state agencies that focus on particular and procedural issues. International bodies of formal and particularly informal control publish criticisms of the state that focus on general and systemic issues. The dissertation highlights how control organs offer limited access to accountability, and how controls of the state may be perceived as both ineffective and counterproductive. Another conclusion is that the positions and strategies of the agents in this field are dependent on their specific capital (resources, knowledge and support). Control of the state is understood as a field of struggle for recognition and legitimacy, in which accusations are denied by representatives of the state and control organs balance their criticism in order to maintain credibility. Both informal control organs and those who hold the state accountable must adjust to the rules of the game or risk being defined out. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

Univ., Diss.--Köln, 2005. / Literaturverz. S. 15 - 25.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans un mouvement de reconnaissance de l'importance accrue de l'institution judiciaire, et de questionnement actuel sur la légitimité démocratique du juge. Dans ce cadre, elle enquête sur le rôle, dans la fonction et la pratique judiciaire, de l'opinion publique, largement considérée comme un élément de légitimité démocratique. Pour obtenir un éclairage plus complet sur cette question, une approche comparative est adoptée et appliquée à l'œuvre protectrice d'une cour nationale constitutionnelle et d'une cour internationale dans le domaine des droits et des libertés : la Cour suprême des États-Unis et la Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme. Le raisonnement suivi est le suivant. Au niveau théorique, il s'agit de clarifier le concept protéiforme d'«opinion publique» et d'établir les différentes sources de la légitimité judiciaire, afin de déterminer si l'opinion publique peut en faire partie. Au niveau procédural, l'étude se penche sur la pratique judiciaire des deux cours, les différentes règles et pratiques qui permettent d'impliquer directement ou indirectement le public dans le processus judiciaire, que ce soit les parties, les tierces-parties, ou les médias. On se penche enfin sur la substance des décisions de justice, qui révèlent la manière dont les juges conçoivent le rôle de l'opinion publique dans la démocratie et dans l'évolution judiciaire des droits et libertés. L'étude de la substance des décisions se concentre d'une part sur la relation entre opinion publique et démocratie dans la protection de la liberté d'expression, et d'autre part sur le rôle de l'opinion publique dans l'évolution des droits des personnes homosexuelles. / This dissertation is part of a larger movement, both national and international, acknowledging the growing importance and inquiring about the democratic legitimacy of judicial institutions. In looking at the judicial office and its practice, it investigates the role of public opinion, largely considered an element of democratic legitimacy. To obtain a more complete perspective on judicial institutions and public opinion, a comparative approach is adopted and the United States Supreme Court, and the European Court of Human Rights are examined. This study adopts the following reasoning. At a theoretical level, it attempts to clarify The multifaceted concept of “public opinion” and to establish the different sources of judicial legitimacy, in order to determine whether public opinion can be considered such a source. At a process level, the study inquiries about the judicial practice of both courts, and the different rules and practices that allow for a direct or indirect involvement of the public, whether parties, third-parties, or the media. It then studies the substance of judicial decisions, which reveal judges' conception of the role of public opinion in democracy and in the judicial evolution of rights and liberties. The content-study of judicial decisions focuses on first on the relationship between public opinion and democracy in the protection of freedom of expression and second on the rote of public opinion in the evolution of the rights of homosexual persons.

The aim of this thesis is the development of the protection of human rights in the European Union, the analysis of the current state and coherence in the context of the legal regulations of the Czech Republic, including the enforcement of human rights in connection withthe judgements.