Syllabus
Structure of the Course:
Introduction to the subject. Terminology. Development of the human rights protection.
Human rights protection in the world and in Europe (universal human rights protection in the framework of the UN and systems of regional human rights protection in comparison).
Systems of human rights protection in Europe. The Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Importance of the ECHR.
Rights of the ECHR and its Protocols and their division.
Control mechanism of the ECHR: the proceedings before the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Case law of the European Court for Human Rights in general and with regard to special questions (illegitimate children, homosexuals, transsexuals, environmental questions etc.)
Right to life (euthanasia in the case of Pretty, other questions as abortion etc.) and ban on torture in the case law of the European Court for Human Rights (case of Soering: inhuman treatment in the case of extradition through the threat of death penalty?)
Freedom of speech and freedom of media and its limits (cases of Handyside, Sunday Times, Lingens, Jersild), freedom of media in conflict with the protection of private sphere (case of Caroline of Hannover), freedom of religion.
Other documents of human rights protection in the framework of the Council of Europe (European Social Charter, documents to the prevention of torture, protection of minorities, biomedicine etc.). Protection of human rights within the OSCE.
Development of human rights protection in the EC and EU, esp. in the case law of the European Court of Justice.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Comparison of the human rights protection in the framework of the Council of Europe and the EU. Relationship between the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Annotation
The course deals with human rights protection in Europe. After a brief comparison with other systems of human rights protection in the world (in the framework of the UN and in other regions than Europe), it will be focused on two major systems of human rights protection within Europe: the system within the Council of Europe and human rights protection in the
European Union. The European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court for Human Rights in
Strasbourg will be examined, especially important and discussed cases concerning the euthanasia, death penalty, freedom of media or freedom of religion etc. There will be analysed the relationship between the European Convention on Human
Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which represents, with regard to the Treaty of Lisbon, a very recent topic.