The right to an independent and impartial tribunal is one of core elements of a fair trial. Therefore, it is vital to lay emphasis on this requirement. Independent and impartial tribunals are the cornerstone of a democratic and modern society respecting the rule of law. Effective fulfilment of this requirement promotes faith in courts, the judicial system and justice itself. Independent and impartial tribunals are a necessary prerequisite to protection of other rights. Although the right to an independent and impartial tribunal is enshrined in many international treaties, this requirement is not always met in practice. This problem is emphasised, inter alia, by the Council of Europe which adopted the Plan of Action on Strengthening Judicial Independence and Impartiality in 2016, due to unsatisfactory fulfilment of this requirement among European countries. The main subject of this thesis is an analysis of judgements of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the right to an independent and impartial tribunal in a wider international context. Case law of the European Court of Human Rights significantly influences not only the general European view on human rights but it has also a substantial impact on the Czech legal environment. This thesis is divided into three...

Denial of the Holocaust and other crimes from the perspective of the international protection of human rights (freedom of expression) This thesis discusses the conflict between the freedom of expression and other rights and values guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, which are affected by denial of the Holocaust and other crimes. Freedom of expression is a relative fundamental right that can be limited in order to protect other protected rights and values. In cases of denial of the Holocaust and other crimes, freedom of expression can be limited in the interests of the protection of the dignity of victims and prevention of disorder or crime. The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive view on the issue of denial of the Holocaust and other crimes in the light of freedom of expression in the European Court of Human Rights case law. The first part provides definition of the relationship between Holocaust denial and freedom of expression from the perspective of international law, the characteristics of freedom of expression and its limits, and the role and proceeding of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of conflict between freedom of expression and other rights and values. The second part is dedicated to the European Court of Human Rights case law concerning the...

An embedded case study investigating the ongoing securitization of migration in the EU from 2014-2020 and the role of legal institutions, in this case the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in these processes. Securitization Theory is used in combination with Critical Legal Theory to create a framework that attempts to both illuminate the role of the functional actor in Securitization Theory further, and the impact securitization has on legal institutions. It provides explanations for sudden shifts in legal argumentation, especially in cases of high political relevance with the use of Critical Legal Theory. The case of N.D. & N.T. vs. Spain serves as an example of a functional actor providing two contrasting judgments on the same events within a short period of time and opens up discussions about political influences on legal institutions. Securitization and the framing of refugees as existential threats to European identity and culture is one of the many ongoing political processes related to the issue of migration and refuge in Europe. As the political landscape shifts and right-wing populist parties establish themselves in European Member States, illegal pushbacks have become common practice at the outer borders of the EU and are challenged both politically and legally. This study investigated cases of illegal pushbacks to renew criticism against the institutions engaging in and enabling the practice.

Protection of reproductive rights in the case law of European Court of Human Rights Abstract Irrespective of the fact that reproduction and sexuality are very intimate issue for each person, reproductive rights very often face restrictions, doubts, and attacks. This is also the case in Europe. Hence this paper deals with the topic of protection of reproductive rights in Europe, more specifically with the stance on the protection of these rights by the European Court of Human Rights. The aim of this paper is to explore the stance of ECHR on the protection of these rights. The author of the paper asks the research question: What is the position of ECHR regarding the protection of reproductive rights? At the same time, the paper points out to certain defects in the Czech legal regulation which could, arguably, lead to violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The paper uses the method of critical analysis on the decisions of ECHR and evaluates the significance of these decisions. The paper uses the case law of ECHR as the primary source while drawing on subsidiary sources such as international organizations' documents or academic articles. Reproductive rights are examined through the human-rights approach with the emphasis on the women's rights in this area. This paper is divided into three parts....

The Prohibition of Racial Discrimination in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights The subject of this thesis is the prohibition of racial discrimination on a regional scale, which is discussed in relation to the European Court of Human Rights and its case law. The aim of this work is to present the prohibition of racial discrimination, as embodied in the most important international legal documents from the beginning of the twentieth century with a special focus on the rules contained in the legal documents of the Council of Europe, and the protection granted by the European Court of Human Rights. Race and ethnicity is seen mainly in terms of the Roma ethnicity, which is obviously not the only one who is in Europe facing the racial discrimination. Given the scope of the thesis it is not possible to address more groups belonging to the above mentioned category. The subject matter is elaborated by methods such as compilation, comparison and partially also analysis. The introductory chapter of the thesis contains general interpretation of equality and non-discrimination with explanations of important terms and concepts. The next chapter provides an overview of the prohibition of racial discrimination in human rights documents of the key international organizations. Closer attention in this...

- Asylum and refugees in the light of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights The thesis deals with issues of asylum and refugees in the context of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The purpose of the thesis is to show a tight relationship between refugee law and protection of human rights. The text is divided into seven chapters. In the introduction, the terms asylum and refugees are distinguished and a refugee is defined according to the crucial document of international refugee law, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The definition of a refugee is outlined using inclusion, cessation and exclusion clauses. The next chapter is dedicated to the rule of non-refoulement stated in the Article 33 of the Refugee Convention, which prohibits states from expelling and deporting a refugee back to a country, where his life or freedom is threatened. The following part focuses on the European Convention on Human Rights and its surveillance done by the European Court of Human Rights. This part also examines the procedural issues of dealing with complaints on breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. Key chapter six is split into subchapters according to relevant provisions of the...

La France est un acteur majeur de la société internationale dont l’attachement aux « droits de l’Homme » constitue un élément caractéristique de sa politique extérieure. Il est alors paradoxal de constater que si la signature de la Convention européenne des droits de l’Homme a été opérée dès 1950, ce n’est qu’en 1974 que celle-ci sera ratifiée et en 1981 que le droit de recours individuel sera reconnu. Il y a donc une ambivalence entre une ligne politique de respect des « droits de l’Homme » et l’acceptation pleine et entière des instruments internationaux correspondants lorsqu’ils instaurent des organes supranationaux de contrôle. Lorsque la France est mise en cause devant la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme, elle se doit de défendre, non seulement ses propres intérêts, mais également ceux du mécanisme objectif de garantie des droits instaurés par la Convention européenne. Il y a donc une pluralité de rôles qui s’offrent à la France en ce cas. Ensuite, la fonction première de la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme consiste à vérifier que les organes internes ont bien appliqué et, le cas échéant, réparé les violations à la Convention européenne. Ce n’est qu’en cas de carence des organes de l’Etat que la France devrait être poursuivie devant la Cour. Enfin, l’incidence de la jurisprudence de la Cour sur l’organisation institutionnelle française est fondamentale et dépasse la stricte mise en œuvre de la Convention par les seules juridictions nationales / France is a major actor in the international society whose attachment to the "human rights" is a characteristic feature of its foreign policy. It is a paradox that if the signature of the European Convention on human rights was proceeded in 1950, it was ratified only in 1974, and the individual petition was recognized in 1981. There is an ambivalence between a policy of respect for the "human rights" and the acceptance of the relevant international instruments when it creates an international body to control its application.When France is sued in the European Court of human rights, it must defend, not only its own interests, but also those of the objective mechanism of the guarantee of the rights established by the European Convention. So there is a plurality of characters for France in this case. Thus, the primary function of the European Court of human rights is to verify that internal organs had properly applied the European Convention and, where appropriate, repaired the violations: is that in the case of deficiency of the State’s organs that France should be sued in the Court. Finally, the impact of the Court’s case-law on the French institutional organization is fundamental and exceed the strict implementation of the Convention by only national courts

La Turquie figure parmi les Etats les plus condamnés du Conseil de l’Europe : on compte ainsi pratiquement trois mille décisions la concernant. Ce contentieux est à l’origine d’évolutions, à la fois pour la Turquie qui, grâce aux décisions de la Cour, adapte sa législation et sa pratique aux standards européens mais également pour la Cour puisque les nombreuses affaires turques ont contribué à élaborer et faire évoluer sa jurisprudence et ses méthodes dans des domaines qu’elle n’aurait pas, ou dans une moindre mesure, eu à traiter sans la Turquie. Au-delà du volume et du contenu des affaires, le contentieux turc a des particularités qui montrent que la Turquie a organisé sa pratique de la Cour européenne. La Cour, en parallèle, a dû s’adapter à ce contentieux et à ses particularités. Ainsi, la Cour et la Turquie ont-elles chacune mis en place des stratégies judiciaires. Si la Cour, astreinte au principe de subsidiarité, évolue dans un constant mouvement de balancier pour assurer le respect effectif des droits de l’Homme tout en ménageant la susceptibilité des Etats, la Turquie, elle, s’efforce de se rapprocher des exigences européennes tout en protégeant sa souveraineté. Ces stratégies accordent une place à la négociation, laissant parfois envisager une approche « transactionnelle » des droits de l’Homme. Cette recherche, à partir du cas de la Turquie, permet d’appréhender comment les droits de l’Homme, réputés universels et, pour certains d’entre eux, intangibles et indérogeables, peuvent être l’objet de « stratégies » et de « transactions ». / Turkey is among the more condemned states within the Council of Europe, with almost three thousand decisions. This case-law leads to changes: it permits Turkey to adapt its legislations and practices to the European exigencies and it gives the Court the possibility to elaborate and refine its jurisprudence and its methods with cases that she would never have without Turkey. Beyond the decisions’ volume and content, the Turkish case presents particularities bringing to light that Turkey has organised its practice of the European Court. In parallel, the Court has to adapt its answers to this case and its particularities. Both Turkey and the Court set up juridical strategies. The Court, who has to comply with the principle of subsidiarity, oscillates between firmness and restraint, so as not to offend the States’ sensibilities while reaching its goal of maintenance and realization of Human Rights. Turkey wavers between the will to conform to the European exigencies and the will to protect its sovereignty. These strategies make way for negotiations and even for a transactional approach of human rights. This research, based on the Turkish case, leads to wonder how human rights, which, for some of them, are universal and inviolable, can be the object of “strategies” and “negotiations”.

Absente de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme, mais prévue par le règlement de la Cour, la révision des arrêts de celle-ci apparaît comme une procédure exceptionnelle qui, à première vue, ne soulève pas de problèmes particuliers. S’agissant pourtant d’une procédure qui existe dans un système institué en vue de la protection des droits de l’homme, il faut déterminer quel est le rôle que la révision peut jouer dans un tel système. A cet égard, l’examen des arrêts adoptés par la Cour à la suite des demandes en révision qui lui ont été présentées relève que la disposition régissant la révision est de nature à susciter une réflexion approfondie et ce, bien que le nombre des arrêts prononcés dans ce domaine ne soit pas impressionnant. En effet, les questions soulevées dans les procédures en révision impliquent une lecture minutieuse de ladite disposition, dont la richesse ne doit pas être sous-estimée. / Not included in the European Convention on Human Rights, but provided for by the Rules of Court, the revision of its judgments appears as an exceptional procedure that, at first glance, does not raise particular issues. However, being amongst the procedures belonging to the human rights protection system, it must be determined what role revision may play in such a system. In this respect, the examination of the judgments delivered by the Court following the requests for revision submitted to it points out that the provision governing revision is likely to give rise to a thorough reflection, even though the number of judgments in this area is not impressive. Indeed, the issues raised in the procedures for revision involve a careful reading of the before-mentioned provision, whose potential should not be underestimated.

The European Court of Human Rights - Enforcement of Judgement and its Comparison with the Procedure of the European Court of Justice of the European Union Abstract This thesis aims to provide an overview of the enforcement of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, following the proceedings held before that court, without which enforcement proceedings cannot be opened. The thesis is focused both on the bodies of the Council of Europe, which play a key role in this process, as well as the national bodies and the measures adopted by them in accordance with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The author also focuses on the mechanisms applied both for the implementation of the measures, and during the supervisory activities of the bodies of the Council of Europe. Within a comprehensive perspective, the author focuses on the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in three Central European countries, in order to compare both the anchoring of international human rights protection in the legal systems of these countries, and the systematics of the bodies involved in the judgment enforcement, demonstrating, on concrete cases, the practical steps during the enforcement of the ECHR judgments in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Austria. Considering the fact that...