Pablo Contreras Vásquez - Apuntes de Derechos
.
  • Inicio
  • Perfil
  • Libros
  • Artículos
  • Proyectos
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Contacto

The future of international deference? Protocol No. 15 and the "margin of appreciation" doctrine

1/28/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
As has been constantly stated by the literature, the term “margin of appreciation” cannot be found in the text of the European Convention of Human Rights.[1] But that might change in the future. States Parties have drafted and signed Protocol No. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“Protocol No. 15”).[2] The Protocol introduces a new paragraph at the end of the European Convention’s preamble, which states:

“Affirming that the High Contracting Parties, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, have the primary responsibility to secure the rights and freedoms defined in this Convention and the Protocols thereto, and that in doing so they enjoy a margin of appreciation, subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights established by this Convention,”[3]

The United Kingdom’s government actively promoted the treaty, as part of its strategy to countervail decisions such as Othamn (Abu Qatada) v. United Kingdom.[4] States Parties first adopted the Brighton Declaration, in which they refused to incorporate a substantive provision on the MOA doctrine in the core text of the European Convention, but accepted the inclusion of the cited reference in the preamble.[5] Protocol No. 15 now seals that aspiration. So far, only Ireland has signed and ratified the treaty and still it needs the ratification of other 46 States Parties to the European Convention.

The text of the Protocol, in the part that is relevant to this research, amends the preamble of the European Convention. It introduces an explicit reference to the “principle of subsidiarity” (States “have the primary responsibility to secure rights . . . ”) and the “margin of appreciation” doctrine (States “enjoy a margin of appreciation, subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights . . . ”). However, it does not reform the substantive provisions of the Convention, something that was celebrated by NGOs.[6] The reference to the MOA doctrine in article 1 of the Protocol contains an explicit reference to the supervisory role of the European Court. Therefore, national discretion is not unlimited. Both States Parties and NGOs have understood that article 1 of the Protocol does not change the current jurisprudential praxis of the Court.[7]

But the amendment is not “toothless.” Preambles and travaux préparatoires play a significant role in the interpretation of the treaties’ provisions. The European Court has accepted this principle of treaty interpretation. In the particular case of Protocol No. 15, the European Court pointed out that “both the explanation given and the context in which the text was drafted are themselves legally significant . . . .”[8] A relevant question will be to what extent the inclusion of these principles in the preamble would change the MOA doctrine as has been developed by the European Court. If the Court follows the understanding expressed in the Explanatory Report and the reading adopted by NGOs, then the amendment should not fix any new features to the MOA doctrine. It would only provide a normative basis that part of the literature has long criticized. It is yet to see how the Court would apply the new preamble in cases where it could defer to national authorities.



[1] Dean Spielmann, Allowing the Right Margin: The European Court of Human Rights and the National Margin of Appreciation Doctrine: Waiver of Subsidiarity of European Review? 14 Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies 381, 383 (2011-2012).

[2] Protocol No. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“Protocol No. 15”), open for signature June 24, 2013. 

[3] Id, at article 1, emphasis added.

[4] European Court of Human Rights, Othamn (Abu Qatada) v. United Kingdom, App. No. 8139/09, Jan. 17, 2012. See “Abu Qatada deportation blocked in human rights court”, The Guardian, Jan. 17, 2012, available at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/17/abu-qatada-deportation-blocked-european [last visited Jan. 24, 2014]; “Human rights court blocks Abu Qatada deportation”, The Independent, Jan. 18, 2012, available at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/human-rights-court-blocks-abu-qatada-deportation-6291124.html [last visited Jan. 24, 2014].

[5] High Level Conference on the Future of the 
European Court of Human Rights. Brighton Declaration, Apr. 19, 2012, at ¶12.b.

[6] Amnesty International et al., Joint NGO Statement. Protocol 15 to the European Convention on Human Rights must not result in a weakening of human rights protection, June 24, 2013, at p. 2.

[7] Id., at 3: “These elements of the travaux préparatoires of Protocol 15 unequivocally confirm that the new Preamble to the Convention will have to be understood in connection with the Court’s long- standing practice in applying its doctrine of the margin of appreciation.” See also Council of Europe, Protocol No. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Explanatory Report, CETS No. 213, at ¶9, available at http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Protocol_15_explanatory_report_ENG.pdf [last visited Jan. 24, 2014]: “In this respect, the role of the Court is to review whether decisions taken by national authorities are compatible with the Convention, having due regard to the State’s margin of appreciation.”

[8] European Court of Human Rights, Opinion of the Court on Draft Protocol No. 15 to the European Convention on Human Rights, Feb. 5, 2013, at ¶4..



0 Comments

    Sobre el Blog

    En esta sección se publican enlaces, noticias y archivos sobre materias de derechos fundamentales y teoría constitucional y política.

    Archives

    December 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    August 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012

    Categories

    All
    Aborto
    Academia
    Acceso A La Información Pública
    Acceso A La Información Pública
    Acuerdo Por Nueva Constitución
    Acuerdo Por Nueva Constitución
    Admisión A Trámite
    Algoritmos
    Almonacid
    Animales No Humanos
    App
    Arbitrariedad
    Art. 135
    Artavia
    Asamblea Constituyente
    Atala Riffo
    Autodeterminación Informativa
    Autodeterminación Informativa
    Autonomía
    Autonomía
    Autoridad De Protección De Datos Personales
    Autoridad De Protección De Datos Personales
    Binominal
    Buena Fe
    Cámara De Diputados
    Candidaturas
    Capitalismo De La Vigilancia
    Carabineros
    Carrera Militar
    Censura
    Cohecho
    Comisión Bicameral
    Comité De Armonización
    Comité De Armonización
    Conflictos De Interés
    Conflictos De Interés
    Congreso Futuro
    Congreso Nacional
    Consejo Para La Transparencia
    Constitución 1980
    Contra-manifestación
    Control De Constitucionalidad
    Control De Convencionalidad
    Control De La Convención
    Control De La Convención
    Control Preventivo
    Convencionales
    Convención Americana DDHH
    Convención Americana DDHH
    Convención Constitucional
    Convención Constitucional
    Convención De Derechos Del Niño
    Conversatorios
    Corte Interamericana Ddhh
    Corte Suprema
    Cotización Obligatoria
    Covid19
    Dato
    Datos Personales
    Datos Sensibles
    Debido Proceso
    Decreto Espía
    Decreto Supremo
    Deferencia Razonada
    Delitos Informáticos
    Democracia
    DEPA
    Derecho Administrativo Sancionatorio
    Derecho A La Educación
    Derecho A La Salud
    Derecho A La Vida
    Derecho Del Consumidor
    Derecho Del Trabajo
    Derecho De Propiedad
    Derecho De Reunión
    Derecho Internacional
    Derechos Fundamentales
    Derechos Humanos
    Desafuero
    Detención
    Detención
    Diario Oficial
    Diccionario Constitucional
    Discriminación
    Elecciones
    Elite
    Estado De Catástrofe
    Estado De Emergencia
    Estado De Excepción Constitucional
    Estados De Excepción Constitucional
    Estados De Excepción Constitucional
    European Court Of Human Rights
    Fecundación In Vitro
    Feminismo
    Ffaa
    Ficha Clínica
    Fondecyt Plataformas
    Fuero
    Fuerzas Armadas
    Funa
    Funcionarios Públicos
    Garantías Judiciales
    Gastos Reservados
    Gestión Documental
    Hoja En Blanco Podcast
    Huelga
    Human Rights
    Igualdad
    Imparcialidad Judicial
    Impuesto
    Inaplicabilidad
    Incertidumbre Económica
    Independencia Judicial
    Indh
    Informe En Derecho
    Inhabilidades Parlamentarias
    Inteligencia Artificial
    Interés Legítimo
    International Deference
    Justicia Militar
    La Constitución De Chile
    La Ley De La Emergencia
    Lanzamiento Libro
    Legaltech
    Ley Hinzpeter
    Lgbt
    Libertad De Cátedra
    Libertad De Conciencia
    Libertad De Enseñanza
    Libertad De Expresión
    Libertad De Expresión
    Libertad Personal
    Libertad Religiosa
    Libre Competencia
    Loc
    Lucro
    Manuales
    Marca Tu Voto
    Margen De Apreciación
    Margen De Apreciación
    Margin Of Appreciation
    Matrimonio Igualitario
    Ministros De Estado
    Nasciturus
    Negociación Colectiva
    Nombramiento De Autoridades
    No Molestar
    Nueva Constitución
    Nueva Constitución
    Nueva Constitución
    Obediencia
    Objeción De Conciencia
    Objeción De Conciencia
    Orden De No Innovar
    Palamara
    Pandemia
    Paridad
    Parlamentarios
    Partidos Políticos
    Pensiones
    Plataformas Digitales
    Plebiscito
    Podcast
    Poder Constituyente
    Policía
    Policía
    Políticas De Privacidad
    Postergación De Elecciones
    Postergación De Elecciones
    Potestad Reglamentaria
    Privacidad
    Probidad
    Procedimiento Administrativo
    Proceso Constituyente
    Prohibición De Deliberación
    Promulgación De Ley
    Protesta
    Protocol No. 15
    Publicación De La Ley
    Quórum
    Quórum
    Reforma Constitucional
    Reglamento De La Convención
    Reglamento De La Convención
    Reos
    Representación
    RGPD
    Sandbox
    Secreto
    Secreto Industrial
    Segregación
    Selección Educacional
    Senado
    Sernac
    Servel
    Sindicatos
    Sistema Electoral
    Subsidiariedad
    Sufragio
    Titularidad De Derechos
    Toque De Queda
    Transparencia
    Tratados Internacionales
    Tratos Crueles E Inhumanos
    Tribunal Constitucional
    Tribunal Europeo De Derechos Humanos
    Tributo
    Tricel
    Universidad Católica
    Vetos
    Voto
    Wikileaks

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.