As of March 2019, two states have not yet ratified Protocol 15 ECHR. When that Protocol enters into force, the Convention’s Preamble will be amended and a reference to the margin of appreciation and subsidiarity will be included therein. It is well-known that notions of subsidiarity and deference have generated substantial attention over the last years; the question of the legitimacy of the Strasbourg Court has emerged as a widely debated topic. The Copenhagen Declaration (April 2018) serves as further evidence of this claim. This paper will argue that i) Protocol 15 will have implications for the Convention system; ii) albeit not in the direction that some critics of the Strasbourg Court might have anticipated, since it will leave the ECtHR in a relatively strong position despite the amendments in the Preamble; iii) yet it will also incite the Court to provide clearer definitions on the margin of appreciation, as well as on its relationship with European consensus.
We look forward to welcoming you on July 4-6, 2022 for our Annual Conference on Global Problems and Prospects in Public Law.
Check out the preliminary program and register your participation by June 11!