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Understanding the causes and consequences of British exceptionalism towards the European Court of Human Rights
The International Journal of Human Rights
Abstract
The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union has overshadowed the increasingly fraught relationship the country has with the European Court of Human Rights. In recent years this has been heavily influenced by British exceptionalism among key policy makers. British exceptionalism, this paper argues, is opposition to the European Court of Human Rights characterised by the belief that the UK’s domestic constitutional institutions are unique and superior to the European Convention on Human Rights, in part because of their historical provenance and longevity. This has led to non-compliance with Court judgments being considered or arguments for withdrawal from the Convention being justified on the basis that British traditions and institutions are superior. On the international plane this appears as a double standard on the part of the UK and contributes to the undermining of the Court’s authority. This paper looks at the core arguments of British exceptionalism, examining their historical origins within UK constitutional law and politics, before looking at how exceptionalism affects the Convention system across Europe.
... 4 We cannot speak of concrete resistance for the execution of conventions' obligations of both the ECtHR and the Committee of Ministers to open the official way of replacing the withdrawal as the only possibility of exercising a form of pressure through threats for the abandonment of the treaty. A systematic and structured opposition to the execution of the EctHR's sentences is a type of an atypical formal complaint against the ECHR which in reality can assume the position of a withdrawal "à la carte" allowing participating states to abandon them immediately activating a legal instrument to avoid the disadvantages deriving from a typical withdrawal (Cowell, 2018;Roter, 2018;Cowell, 2019;Graham, 2020 has taken the name of the principled resistance and this conduct also includes threats of withdrawal which can be used as actual actions of formal withdrawal (Graham, 2020). As reactions of the conventional system, self-restraint type attitudes are found on the part of the ECtHR (Christoffersen et al., 2011;Davies, 2012;Kleinlein, 2017;Bates, 2020) which thus allow theories of disobedience of a system to be shaped. ...
... So the cost of leaving the ECHR has two paths as a result. On the one hand, damage to the state's image internationally and on the other, a cost of non-compliance which is evaluated as a less disadvantageous option from a political point of view (Cowell, 2019). ...
... Withdrawal includes in its nature also legal or non-juridical effects. Participation in a treaty in a positive sense means collaboration for the maximum protection of human rights at the national level (Cowell, 2019). A consequent withdrawal undoubtedly also means a negative PRINCIPLED value with a reputational cost. ...
The present paper tries to focus and analyze a particular type of withdrawal of State members of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) from it due to non-execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). What is the legal circle of this type of withdrawal? What is the role of the ECtHR? Are there any examples of active disobedience from any State members of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) from it due to non-execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). What is the legal circle of this type of withdrawal? What is the role of the ECtHR? Are there any examples of active disobedience from any
... The criterion of transfer of undertaking, as an economic entity which retains its identity, was formulated by Court of Justice of European Union based on criteria, which were not interpreted into text of Directive, which resulted in creation of non-compliance, including deviating from principle of transfer of entity which retains its identity. It was decided to remove criteria for transfer of tangible or intangible assets in connection with transfer of company and vice versa emphasized similarity of activities and tasks transferred (Cowell, 2019). Against this loosened interpretation, authors of paper based on comparison method follow rigid interpretation, based on a strict scale of preservation of identity of entity transferred, referring to relevant European Union law, according to which should be decided, such as decision in cases of Rygaard (Czech Republic, 1994), in Süzen (Czech Republic, 1995a), in Oy Liikenne (Czech Republic, 1995b) and Temco Service Industries (Czech Republic, 2002), where basis for a reasonable interpretation of Directive can be seen, and it is possible to preserve meaning and purpose of legislation so that it is balanced and rational to protect employees and at the same time not to burden employers disproportionately (Polgari, 2018). ...
The aim of paper is to define differences between Czech legislation and European law established by law or other valid legal regulations and to point out key areas that are different and key principles for transfer of European and Czech human rights and responsibilities arising employment legal relations. The paper of entire study is determination of proposal for measures related to changes in Czech legislation, which formulate proposals changes in Czech legislation. The paper provides a basic overview of theoretical framework for a practical understanding of human rights and responsibilities from labour relations on basis of administrative and legal acts, as well as court decisions. The methods that were used are method of induction and deduction, Best Practice method (own experience from professional practice of authors in positions Deputy of HR manager and lawyer), exclusionary method, observation method, classification analysis method, method of abstraction and comparison method. Outcomes are a comparison of current national and European legislation in form of a case study which is based on essential parts of provisions of relevant legislation of Czech Republic according to paragraph 2 of §338 of Labour Code analysing social work implications in accordance with European legislation make take precedence over Czech law and could be reduced by criteria for assessing retention of identity of transferred economic entity due to a time delay affecting postponement of tasks. The main benefit of study is differences in European legislation when contracting a business transfer or merger. Future research must be compared other legislation in selected European countries not only Czech Republic. European law must be adjusted with respect to individual European countries in future so that even court decisions in each European country are equally legally valid.
... In any case, the final decision rests with the court, which fully represents an independent branch of state power in the British/UK constitutional legal system. As F. Cowell points out, the UK's internal constitutional institutions are unique, partly because of their historical origin and longevity [3]. The American constitutional legal system has developed under the influence of two interrelated, but not identical processes. ...
With headlines referencing ‘U.N.ACCEPTABLE Clueless UN official’, ‘“loopy” UN inspector’ and ‘UN meddler’, it is clear that UN special procedure mandate holders can be subjected to negative national press coverage when visiting the United Kingdom. Indeed, some media outlets border on vitriolic in their coverage of mandate holders’ visits and reports. This paper argues that a number of misconceptions and misunderstandings explain some of this media coverage. UN special procedure mandate holders are not employed by the UN, nor are they dispatched by the UN to investigate the UK. Rather they are independent and receive no payment for their time or work. Actual visits are funded from the UN general budget and the UK is not alone being examined and critiqued. In explaining some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings, the paper clarifies the role of special rapporteurs and the contribution they make to the UN.
This paper examines the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments in prisoner’s right to vote cases. The Court held that a blanket and automatic ban on prisoners’ right to vote is incompatible with Article 3 of Protocol No.1 to the European Convention on Human Rights. Austria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, the United Kingdom and Turkey have taken steps to implement the Court’s judgments in their domestic laws. Based on legal changes in national jurisdictions, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has closed its supervision and examination of prisoners’ disenfranchisement cases for these six countries. This paper argues that Austria, Georgia and Romania have adopted a rights-based policy for prisoners’ voting, of either sentencing courts are given the power to assess prisoners’ disenfranchisement in individual cases, or only those prisoners sentenced to lengthy prison sentences are denied the right to vote in these countries. However, Russia, the United Kingdom and Turkey have paid lip service to the ECtHR’s judgments, as the vast majority of prisoners in these countries continue to be automatically and indiscriminately denied the right to vote.
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