Stephen Livingstone Lecture

An in-person event on the European Court of Human Rights under siege. With Speaker Professor Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou.
About this Event

Prof. Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou gives a lecture on Blaming Strasbourg: The European Court of Human Rights Under Siege.
The European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights sometimes seem to have become public enemies number one. Almost everything that goes wrong can now be attributed by politicians—and by some judges—to Strasbourg. Perhaps even Eurovision failures will soon be blamed on the European Court of Human Rights. Many of the criticisms directed at the Court are either demonstrably untrue or massively overstated.

In the first part of this lecture, I will examine some of the most prominent criticisms currently directed at the European Court of Human Rights and assess how far they are supported by the facts. In the second part, I will consider how the Court has responded to these pressures and, in particular, whether its recent emphasis on subsidiarity, deference and avoiding conflict with national authorities represents an effective strategy. At first sight, becoming less irritating to the most outspoken states may seem like an obvious way for the Court to protect its position. Yet this strategy may not succeed because the attacks on the Strasbourg Court are rarely grounded in facts.

Bio- Prof Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou is Professor in Human Rights Law and Associate Dean for Global Engagement of the School of Law and Social Justice (University of Liverpool). Kanstantsin is an author of four books and over a hundred of academic articles, review pieces and comments. He published in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Legal Studies, Human Rights Law Review, International and Comparative Law Review and many others. He was a visiting professor at Sorbonne University (Paris) and many others. His research interests spread between interpretation of the European Convention of Human Rights, reform of the European Court of Human Rights, administration of international justice, comparative and constitutional law. Kanstantsin is a co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the European Convention on Human Rights Law Review. Kanstantsin is director of the International Law and Human Rights Unit.