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Claire Loven: Fundamental Rights Violations by Private Actors and the Procedure before the European Court of Human Rights
- Edited by Philip Czech, Universität Salzburg, Lisa Heschl, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria, Karin Lukas, Central European University, Budapest, Manfred Nowak, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, Gerd Oberleitner, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria
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- Book:
- European Yearbook on Human Rights 2023
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 04 April 2024
- Print publication:
- 30 November 2023, pp 689-692
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Summary
‘What are the characteristics of ECtHR cases originating from a conflict between two private actors and how can the Court deal with such verticalized cases while taking due care of the procedural rights of private actors, as well as the position of Convention States and the Court itself?’ (p. 8). This fundamental research question is the crux of the publication at hand, in which the author examines extensively the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)'s treatment of so-called verticalised cases, i.e. those transformed from a conflict between two private actors at the national level (horizontal conflict) into a conflict between a private actor and a state (vertical conflict), thus being capable of being brought before the ECtHR. The increasing frequency with which the Court is confronted with such verticalised cases, along with the issues they pose, most notably the lack of a serious possibility for ‘disappeared parties’ to exercise their rights and interests before the Court, prompted the author to create a new approach to dealing with such cases. This is even more important since the underlying Convention system was not originally designed for verticalised cases, posing a challenge not only for private actors and Convention States, but also for the Court itself (p. 6 ff.).
The book is divided into four parts, with a total of eleven chapters, and is a publication of the author‘s doctoral thesis. The first part provides an insight into the Convention system by analysing its history and intentions, its key principles – being the principle of effectiveness and the principle of subsidiarity – as well as the procedural rules and standards of proceedings before the ECtHR, which underpin the following analysis. In the second part, the author discusses the so-called horizontal positive obligations of Convention States, obliging them ‘to take action to secure the rights and liberties guaranteed in the Convention in relations between private actors’ (p. 75). The need to address these obligations, she explains, stems from the fact that such obligations are oft en imposed in cases arising from horizontal conflicts at a national level (p. 75 ff.). As part of an in-depth analysis of verticalised cases before the ECtHR, in the sixth chapter, the author demonstrates the Court‘s current approach when dealing with such cases.
Giuseppe Palmisano: Collective Complaints as a Means for Protecting Social Rights in Europe
- Edited by Philip Czech, Universität Salzburg, Lisa Heschl, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria, Karin Lukas, Ludwig Boltzmann Institut für Menschenrechte, Austria, Manfred Nowak, Global Campus of Human Rights, Venice and Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, Gerd Oberleitner, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria
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- Book:
- European Yearbook on Human Rights 2022
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 20 April 2023
- Print publication:
- 30 November 2022, pp 789-792
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Summary
London and New York, Anthem Press, 2022, 80 pages, £ 19.99
In light of a number of serious economic and social crises, particularly noteworthy being the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and, even more recently, the Ukrainian refugee crisis in 2022, the importance of the protection of the enjoyment of social rights in Europe has increased significantly. These crises have caused major impacts on the most essential social rights, including the beyond going ‘societal issues’ , such as the ‘right to protection of health, the protection and education of children and young persons and the right of persons with disabilities to social integration and participation in the life of the community’, provided for in the European Social Charter.
In Collective Complaints as a Means for Protecting Social Rights in Europe , Giuseppe Palmisano has created a valuable contribution to ensuring the protection of the said social rights, explaining the development and specialities, as well as the key problems of the collective complaints procedure, envisaged as a sui generis instrument established within the framework of the Council of Europe, and aiming to protect social rights in Europe. Due to his many years of experience in various positions, inter alia as President, in the European Committee of Social Rights, there is no one better placed to shed light on the monitoring mechanism of collective complaints, and its difficulties.
The book consists of eight chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction to the European Social Charter treaty system, its relaunch, and its specific ‘à la carte arrangement’, intended as a system of acceptance, enabling states to decide on the provisions which they consider – to a certain extent – to be binding obligations.
The second chapter continues with a comprehensive overview of the foundations of the collective complaints procedure, and paves the way for the first main chapter, Chapter 3, in which the author deals with the admissibility of complaints, highlighting the issues relating to the various collective bodies entitled to lodge a complaint.
As a first step, the author examines situations where representative trade unions lodge a complaint, addressing the difficulties related to the concept of ‘trade union’ and the criteria of ‘representative’ in this regard.