Professor Christoph Grabenwarter of the Vienna University of Business and Economics has published his extensive commentary (600 pages) on the ECHR in English now with Hart Publishing. The book is entitled ‘The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms A Commentary‘. Although it is a welcome addition to the existing ECHR commentaries and handbooks, it is unfortunately on the very expensive side, with a price of 205 GBP, putting it only within the financial grasp of institutions rather than individuals. Hopefully a more affordable paperback version will follow! This is the abstract:
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) entered into force on 3
September 1953 with binding effect on all Member States of the Council
of Europe. It grants the people of Europe a number of fundamental
rights and freedoms (right to life, prohibition of torture, prohibition
of slavery and forced labour, right to liberty and security, right to a
fair trial, no punishment without law, right to respect for private and
family life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of
expression, freedom of assembly and association, right to marry, right
to an effective remedy, prohibition of discrimination) plus some more by
additional protocols to the Convention (Protocols 1 (ETS No. 009), 4
(ETS No. 046), 6 (ETS No. 114), 7 (ETS No. 117), 12 (ETS No. 177) and 13
(ETS No. 187)).Any person who feels his or her rights under the ECHR have been
violated by the authorities of one of the Member States can bring a case
to the European Court of Human Rights, established under the
Convention. The States are bound by the Court’s decisions. The Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe make sure that the decisions are
properly executed. Today the Court receives thousands of petitions
annually, demonstrating the immense impact of the Convention and the
Strasbourg Court.Professor Grabenwarter’s Commentary deals with the Convention
systematically, article-by-article, considering the development and
scope of each article, together with the relevant case-law and
literature.
