Interpretation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights: in respect of NGOs in the meaning of Article 34 of the European Convention on Human Rights
Abstract
In this paper, the author deals with the analysis of some principles of interpretation of Article 10 of the Convention on example of the judgments relating to NGOs within the meaning of Article 34 of the Convention. On the basis of the analysis of manuals to the Convention, seven the most frequent principles of interpretation of the Convention have been selected, namely:
1) effective interpretation,
2) subsidiarity,
3) proportionality,
4) the Convention as a "living instrument",
5) margin of appreciation,
6) autonomous meaning and
7) the fourth instance doctrine. A structural approach to the interpretation of the Convention is described as a way of application of the five-stage test. The author concludes that the main principles of interpretation, used by the Court in the course of an assessment of Article 10 of the Convention, are essentially the same as ones applied to the other Articles of the Convention. Regarding the complaints of the non-governmental organizations, they are examined by the Court similarly as the complaints from individuals. An important conclusion is that the reference to any particular principle in the judgment does not guarantee a concrete result.