The Reception Process in Austria and Switzerland

This chapter discusses the reception of the ECHR in Austria and Switzerland. Topics covered include the accession and ratification of the ECHR in both countries, the status of the ECHR in national law, an overview of the activity of the European Court of Human Rights, and the ECtHR's case law and its effects on the national legal order. Although both countries joined the ECHR at a relatively early stage, this starting position led to different outcomes. The main reason is because the common denominators of neutrality and federalism in these two countries are actually rather small: as Austria follows a very different concept of neutrality, it did not face any (political) difficulties before and during the ratification process. Switzerland, on the other hand, was very reluctant to join the Council of Europe and careful to avoid any concessions with regard to neutrality.

Assessing the Impact of the ECHR on National Legal Systems

This chapter discusses the impact of the ECHR in 18 national legal orders. Topics covered include the reception of the ECHR into domestic law and practice, inputs into the ECHR legal system (applications) and the most important outputs (judgements of the Court and other decisions), the Court's impact on national legal systems, how the evolution of certain structural features of the Convention has complicated the reception process at the domestic level, and the future of the Court.

The Reception Process in Ireland and the United Kingdom

This chapter examines the reception of the ECHR in the UK and Ireland both before and after incorporation. Both countries incorporated the ECHR using roughly the same model. One might have assumed that the mode of incorporation into a dualist legal order would largely determine outcomes. In Ireland and the UK, however, the impact of acts of incorporation was heavily mediated by pre-existing constitutional structure and practice.

The Reception Process in Sweden and Norway

This chapter discusses the reception of the ECHR in Sweden and Norway. It shows that the true Europeanization of the legal systems of the two countries was initiated in the mid-90's. This legal transformation coincided with changes of an economic nature brought about by the process of globalization. From a legal point of view, globalization was brought about by the integration of two important regimes of law into the domestic system: the ECHR and the law of the European Union (EU).

The Reception of the ECHR in National Legal Orders

This chapter begins by discussing the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Established in 1953, the ECHR created a basic catalogue of rights binding on the signatories, and new institutions charged with monitoring and enforcing compliance. The ECHR has since evolved into an intricate legal system. The High Contracting Parties have steadily upgraded the regime's scope and capacities, in successive treaty revisions. They have added new rights, enhanced the powers of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and strengthened the links between individual applicants and the regime. Today, the Court is an important, autonomous source of authority on the nature and content of fundamental rights in Europe. In addition to providing justice in individual cases, it works to identify and to consolidate universal standards of rights protection, in the face of wide national diversity and a steady stream of seemingly intractable problems. The methodology used to analyze the case studies presented in the subsequent chapters is described.

The Reception Process in Poland and Slovakia

This chapter discusses the reception of the ECHR in Poland and Slovakia. Topics covered include the accession and ratification of the ECHR in both countries, the status of ECHR in national law, the implementation of international law by domestic courts, an overview of case law, and the European Court's case law and its effects on the national legal system. It is shown that despite the similar historical situation of both countries, the patterns of reception of the ECHR differ considerably. In Poland, the ECHR became immensely popular and gained the status of an instrument of popular justice, resorted to by individuals in a spontaneous and unorganized manner. In Slovakia, it plays a similar role in so far as it is used extremely rarely by organized civil society institutions as a legal advocacy instrument.

The Reception Process in Greece and Turkey

This chapter discusses the reception of the ECHR in Greece and Turkey. Both countries ratified the ECHR almost simultaneously in the 50's, without critically and rigorously scrutinizing their domestic laws as to their conformity with the ECHR, and despite theoretically recognizing judicial review of legislation, the Greek and Turkish courts have traditionally deferred to the other two branches of Government. However, in the last three decades, differences in the effectiveness of the ECHR in Greece and in Turkey have become increasingly visible. Following the restoration of democracy in Greece in 1975, the fundamentals of democracy and rule of law soon became commonplace. In contrast, in Turkey, the traditional resistance to reforms in the State bureaucracy, including the Judiciary, the deficient willpower of the Government's political branches for the implementation of the reforms, the rise of nationalism, and the role of the military have perpetuated the difficulties for an effective reception of the ECHR.

The Reception Process in Spain and Italy

This chapter discusses the reception of the ECHR in Spain and Italy. Topics covered include the accession and ratification of the ECHR in both countries, the status of the ECHR in national law, an overview of the activity of the European Court of Human Rights, and the ECtHR's case law and its effects on the national legal order. It is shown that the application of the ECHR depends not just on the formal constitutional provisions but, even more importantly, on how constitutional courts have enhanced the Convention's effectiveness through their rulings.

The Reception Process in the Netherlands and Belgium

This chapter discusses the reception of the ECHR in the Netherlands and Belgium. Topics covered include the accession and ratification of the ECHR in both countries, the status of the ECHR in national law, an overview of the activity of the European Court, the ECtHR's case law and its effects on the national legal order, and the manner in which the highest courts (Supreme Court, Council of State and the Central Appeals Board) applied the ECHR in their jurisprudence.

The Reception Process in France and Germany

This chapter discusses the reception of the ECHR in France and Germany. Although both States have been active supporters of human rights and have been close partners in the construction of Europe, their courts were reluctant to refer directly and explicitly to the ECHR. The reception of the ECHR can be characterized as ‘forced’ adaptation, rather than a voluntary process: often, authorities had no choice but to adjust the national legal order to the requirements of the ECHR. In both countries, the relationship between the national courts and the European Court of Human Rights has not always been harmonious, and some tensions remain.