The Right to Life: A Guide to the Implementation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights

Council of Europe - Human Rights Handbook No. 8, November 2006

96 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 2008

See all articles by Douwe Korff

Douwe Korff

Oxford Martin School - Global Cyber Capacity Centre; Eur. Univ. Viadrina - Centre for Internet & Human Rights; Yale University - Information Society Project; London Metropolitan University

Date Written: October 23, 2008

Abstract

This Handbook deals with the right to life, as guaranteed by Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and with the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) under that article. In summarising the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (and where relevant, of the European Commission on Human Rights, abolished by Protocol No. 11 to the Convention) on Article 2, reference is however often also made to more general issues, to other rights in the Convention, and to issues outside the Convention (such as other European or United Nations standards), as reflected in that case-law.

This handbook is aimed, in particular, at judges and other legal professionals such as prosecutors and practising lawyers. These need to understand the Convention and the case-law of the Court, in particular when the Convention is formally part of their domestic legal systems - as is the case in most of the member States of the Council of Europe. Indeed, in law, the Convention in many European countries overrides ordinary domestic law. It is therefore crucial for these legal practitioners to be aware of the detailed requirements of the Convention. More specifically, it follows from the supremacy of the Convention that the interpretation of the Convention by the European Court of Human Rights should also be followed by the national courts in these countries.

The Court's judgments are not merely advisory or relevant to the respondent State in a given case only. Rather, in Council of Europe member States in which domestic law or jurisprudence proclaims the supremacy of international law in general, and/or of international human rights law or the Convention in particular, the domestic courts must follow the European Court of Human Rights' interpretations of the Convention in their own jurisprudence. It is hoped that this handbook, together with the other handbooks already issued, will help them do so.

Keywords: human rights, right to life, abortion, euthanasia, use of force, death penalty

Suggested Citation

Korff, Douwe, The Right to Life: A Guide to the Implementation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (October 23, 2008). Council of Europe - Human Rights Handbook No. 8, November 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1288555

Douwe Korff (Contact Author)

Oxford Martin School - Global Cyber Capacity Centre ( email )

University of Oxford
34 Broad Street
Oxford, OX1 3BD
United Kingdom

Eur. Univ. Viadrina - Centre for Internet & Human Rights ( email )

Grosse Scharrnstr. 59
Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg 15230
Germany

Yale University - Information Society Project ( email )

P.O. Box 208206
New Haven, CT 06520-8206
United States

London Metropolitan University ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
2,247
Abstract Views
6,598
Rank
12,348
PlumX Metrics