ABSTRACT

The present contribution analyses the developments in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2021. The relevant judgments and decisions have been selected on the basis of two criteria, namely qualifi cation as ‘key cases’ by the Court itself, and the attraction of the stakeholders’ attention and/or criticisms. Among the cases that met the above criteria, the author selected those cases that dealt with a common issue, namely the problem of the applicability (in terms of establishing states’ jurisdiction under Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights), and the interpretation and application (in terms of clarifying the content of states’ duties and determining whether they have been violated in the specific circumstances of the cases) of the Convention in situations of an international or cross-border nature. The analysis shows that the Court is, more and more, faced with similar situations. At the same time, although the Court is clearly willing to develop states’ Conventional duties and obligations in international and cross-border situations, a manifest preference for procedural instead of substantive obligation has been identified. In this regard, the specific topic dealt with in the present contribution confirms the more general tendency, identified by the literature on the Court’s case law, towards a ‘procedural review’ of Member States’ compliance with the Convention obligations.

INTRODUCTION

The point of departure for selecting the most relevant judgments and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights (‘the ECtHR’ or ‘the Court’) in one entire year seems to be the consultation of those that are qualified as ‘key cases’ by the Court itself. It can be assumed that those are the cases which raised complex legal issues and/or clarified, developed or overturned the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court. From an academic point of view, however, the selection must also take into account cases which attracted attention and/or criticism from governments, NGOs, academics and other stakeholders.