Laurence Helfer of Duke University has posted a very interesting ‘reflection’ on the website of the European Society of International Law on the outcomes of the Brighton Summit on the European Court. It is entitled ‘The Burdens and Benefits of Brighton’. this is the author’s own summary of the essay:
In this brief commentary, I first review the Brighton Declaration provisions that reflect the member states’ attempt to rein in the power of Strasbourg judges. I then introduce and defend a proposal to condition access to the new Protocol’s “benefits” to those member states that are adequately shouldering the “burdens” of more deeply embedding the Convention and ECtHR case law in their national legal orders. I conclude by identifying alternative ways to implement this proposal and discuss their potential benefits and drawbacks.
