This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the rise and subsequent development of one of the most striking supranational judicial institutions ever created. The book brings together leading scholars and practitioners to cast new light on the substantial jurisprudence and perpetual political reform of the Court. The broad analysis based on historical, legal, and social scientific perspectives provides new insight into the lasting institutional crisis of the ECtHR and identifies the lessons that can be learned and taken into account in the shaping of the future of the European Conven ... More

This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the rise and subsequent development of one of the most striking supranational judicial institutions ever created. The book brings together leading scholars and practitioners to cast new light on the substantial jurisprudence and perpetual political reform of the Court. The broad analysis based on historical, legal, and social scientific perspectives provides new insight into the lasting institutional crisis of the ECtHR and identifies the lessons that can be learned and taken into account in the shaping of the future of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The European Court of Human Rights is in many ways an unparalleled success. The European Convention took its own unique path under the leadership of the Strasbourg Court that embarked, during the 1970s, on the development of a more progressive jurisprudence. In the post-Cold War era, it went from being the guarantor of human rights solely in Western Europe to becoming increasingly involved in the transition to democracy and the rule of law in Eastern Europe. Now the protector of the human rights of some 800 million Europeans from forty-seven different countries, the European system is once again deeply challenged — this time by a massive caseload as well as the Member States’ increased reluctance towards the Court.