---

This book presents contentious rulings by the European Court of Human Rights. It argues that the moral integrity of the Court´s rulings supporting and protecting human rights is an essential aspect of promoting the internationalization of the rule of law.

---

Introductory Remarks on the Perspective and Intent of the Author in Writing This Monograph The European Court of Human Rights comments in the judgment Korbely v. Hungary that: However, clearly drafted a legal provision may be, in any system of law, including criminal law, there is an inevitable element of judicial interpretation. There will always be a need for elucidation of doubtful points and for adaptation to changing circumstances. Indeed, in the Convention States, the progressive development of the criminal law through judicial law making is a well-entrenched and necessary part of legal tradition...The Court´s role is con?ned to ascertaining whether the effects of such an interpretation [interpretation by the national courts and authorities of domestic law which sometimes may refer to or incor- rate international law principles or agreements] are compatible with the Convention 1 [European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms] (emphasis added). This book then examines to what degree this "inevitable element of judicial interpretation" has been applied by the European Court of Human Rights in a manner consistent with the guarantees of the most fundamental human rights under international criminal, human rights and humanitarian law.

---

I: Selected Factors Facilitating Impunity for International Crimes Through the European Court of Human Rights.- II: The European Court of Human Rights´ Reluctance to Classify European Convention Violations as International Crimes Even When Those Violations Likely Constitute ´Genocide´ or ´Crimes Against Humanity´ in Times of Peace or in Immediate Post-conflict Periods.- III: The European Court of Human Rights´ Reluctance to Classify European Convention Violations as International Crimes Even When Those Violations Likely Constitute ´War Crimes´ or ´Crimes Against Humanity in Times of Armed Conflict´.- IV: The Importance of Moral Legitimacy in International Human Rights Court Rulings.

---

Aus den Rezensionen:

"... hier vorliegenden Monographie anerkennt diesen Umstand, unterzieht die Judikatur des EGMR jedoch einer kritischen Betrachtung. ... Die Autorin übt schwerwiegende Kritik an der Judikatur des EGMR, begründet ihre Aussagen jedoch stichhaltig anhand zahlreicher konkreter Fälle, deren Inhalt sie ausführlich wiedergibt. Insgesamt ist eine derartige Betrachtung des europäischen Systems "von außen" durchaus wünschenswert, da auf diesem Weg unter Umständen leichter über die positiven Effekte und Errungenschaften des EGMR hinausgeblickt und zu einer konstruktiven Fortentwicklung des internationalen Menschenrechtsschutzes beigetragen werden kann." (Petra Pann, in: NLMR Newsletter Menschenrechte, 2010, Issue 5, S. 327)

---