The European Court of Human Rights

Current Challenges in Historical Perspective

Edited by Helmut Philipp Aust, Professor of Law, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany and Co-Chair of the ILA Study Group on ‘The Role of Cities in International Law’ and Esra Demir-Gürsel, Georg Forster Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Law, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany

This insightful book considers how the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is faced with numerous challenges which emanate from authoritarian and populist tendencies arising across its member states. It argues that it is now time to reassess how the ECHR responds to such challenges to the protection of human rights in the light of its historical origins.

‘The volume provides an excellent tour de force through both the history of the ECtHR as well as the Court's dealing with histories in its case law. It poses questions to the core of the self-understanding, not only of the ECtHR but also for the legal and political scholarship on the Court. The multiplicity of voices assembled by the editors provide a rich and nuanced analysis, which does not fall into the trap of nostalgia but highlights the complex contexts in which the Court has, continues, and will operate in the future.’
– Silvia Steininger, Zeitschrift für Rechtssoziologie

‘An original, unique and fundamental contribution to the widespread debate on the very idea of an international system for protecting human rights that directly affects the European Court of Human Rights, “the conscience of Europe”. In revisiting history from a contemporary perspective, this work provides an outstanding critical analysis of the Court’s alarm bell function in the most sensitive areas of human rights. An illuminating book in which the past enlightens the present. A must-read for everyone in the field.’
- - - - - -弗朗索瓦丝Tulkens Vice-Pr前esident of the European Court of Human Rights

‘In what ways can the study of history inform current debates about the European Court of Human Rights? Uniting some of the academy’s most thoughtful writers on the European Court, this volume explores the uses, misuses and insights of history in analyzing both the Court’s jurisprudence and its evermore contested political role. The volume provides depth to current debates and will speak to lawyers, legal scholars, and historians of Europe alike.’
– Alexandra Huneeus, University of Wisconsin-Madison, US