The problems of the European Court of Human Rights to apply International Humanitarian Law

Authors

  • Joana Abrisketa Uriarte

Keywords:

European Court of Human Rights, European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, International Humanitarian Law, armed conflicts

Abstract

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) faces countless difficulties when it comes to dealing with situations affected by armed conflicts or other similar contexts of violence. The tendency of the Court is to use the legal framework given by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Thus Court builds its own judicial standards, avoiding references to the applicability of International Humanitarian Law. The general aim of this article is to consider the reasons of the Court for being reluctant to use IHL as an interpretative criterion. The specific objective is to identify the techniques used by the Tribunal to deal with the contexts affected by these kinds of contexts.