On 16 and 17 October 2020 there will be an
online conference on Covid-19 and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Speakers include a long list of sitting and former judges of the European Court
of Human Rights, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and
academics working on the Convention system. The full agenda is available online. The registration
link is here. The event will be translated live
in Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian and Macedonian.
The conference is part of the Seventh
Regional Rule of Law Forum for South-East Europe and is hosted by Civil
Rights Defenders and The Advice on Individual Rights in Europe (AIRE).
Below is the description of the conference by the
organisers:
‘The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the
greatest global crises since World War II. Governments all over the world have
taken unprecedented measures to deal with the challenges posed by the pandemic
and to limit the dangers posed to life and health. It is also the first time in
the history of the Convention that many Member States have been affected
concurrently by the same exceptional crisis situation, and by one which affects
so many Convention rights.
The pandemic has engaged States’ positive
obligations to protect life and health, whilst the measures such as lockdowns
which were implemented to try to contain the pandemic and protect health have
interfered with numerous other Convention rights. For example, the closure of
courts, schools, places of worship and hospitality venues has raised issues
under the right to a fair trial, education, freedom of religion and peaceful
enjoyment of property, whilst restrictions on movement and gatherings
interfered with the rights to freedom of movement, expression, association and
free elections.
Clearly, the Covid-19 pandemic raises novel
legal questions and new challenges regarding how to balance the multiple rights
at stake. There is, therefore, no doubt that a range of Convention rights cases
related to the pandemic will soon land on the desks of national and
international judges. As the nature and impact of the pandemic continues to
evolve, it is also likely that judicial responses to these questions will help
to shape States’ responses to the pandemic going forward. It is therefore
essential that those dealing with questions relating to the pandemic understand
what the ECHR requires of Member States in such a context. Not only will this
help to ensure a human rights compliant response to the Covid-19 pandemic, it
will also impact on the development of longer-lasting human rights norms in the
field of public health and help to condition the effectiveness of human rights
law in emergency situations for the foreseeable future. An understanding
of existing, relevant ECtHR case law can help provide the keys to overcome new
challenges and provide a useful framework within which to address new legal
questions.
The Forum will provide an opportunity to
reflect on how existing ECtHR case law may be applied to the novel legal
questions and factual situations which have arisen in the context of the
pandemic. It will bring together experts in the field to discuss the extent of
the positive obligations which Member States might be under, and when exactly
such obligations might arise. The Forum will also facilitate conversation
regarding the main threats to human rights which have arisen in the context of
the pandemic and provide an opportunity for participants to share their
insights into best practice solutions to these challenges based on their
experience dealing with the pandemic so far. As always, the Forum will
encourage collaboration between participants to develop solutions on how to
manage the challenges which they continue to face and/or which may arise in the
future.’
