A Constitutionalist Approach to the European Convention on Human Rights

Lisa Sonnleitner is Lecturer of Jurisprudence at Karl-Franzens University Graz, Austria.

PART I
FUNDAMENTALS
1. On the Concepts of Law and Human Rights
I. The Dual Nature of Law
II. The Concept of Human Rights
2. A New Concept of Evolutive and Static Interpretation
I. Evolutive Interpretation Within a Normative Theory of Interpretation
II. Evolutive Interpretation as an Element of the Time Dimension of Interpretation
III. Static Interpretation as the Parameter for Evolutive Interpretation
3. The Legitimacy of Evolutive Interpretation Revisited
I. Evolutive Interpretation and the ECHR
II. Evolutive Interpretation and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
III. Evolutive Interpretation and General Principles of International Law
4. The Criticism against Evolutive Interpretation Revisited
I. Democratic Legitimacy of Evolutive Interpretation
II. Sovereignty
III. Rule of Law

PART II
THE ECHR CONSTITUTION
5. The Argument of Constitutionalism
I. Constitutionalism in the International Realm
II. Cosmopolitan Constitutionalism
III. Deliberative or Discursive Constitutionalism
6. The Constitutional Nature of the ECHR
I. The Constitutional Status of the ECHR’s Judicial Review Mechanism
II. Locating the ECHR in the International Constitutionalism Debate
7. Three Basic Constitutional Principles of the ECHR
I. The Three Pillars of the Council of Europe as Constitutional Principles
II. The Ideal and Real Dimension in the ECHR
III. Time Dimension of Interpretation and the Dual Nature of the ECHR

PART III
BALANCED LEGITIMACY MODEL
8. Setting the Scene for Balancing at the Interpretation Stage
I. The Distinction between Rules and Principles
II. Connecting Static and Evolutive Interpretation to Formal and Material Principles
III. Balancing in the Different Stages of Law Application
IV. Balancing of Interpretive Canons
9. The Balancing Model for Evolutive and Static Interpretation
I. Basic Ideas on the Balancing Model
II. Critical Aspects of Balancing in Human Rights Interpretation
III. Internal Structure of the Balancing Model
IV. Weight Formula
10. External Justification
I. How to Accord Weights in the ECHR?
II. Weighting Rules in the Time Dimension of Interpretation
III. The Epistemic Reliability of the Underlying Premises

PART IV
THE BALANCED LEGITIMACY MODEL APPLIED
11. The Right to Divorce
I. Facts of the Case
II. Time Dimension of Interpretation
III. The ECtHR’s Reasoning
IV. The Balancing of Static and Evolutive Interpretation
V. The Legitimacy of the Evolutive Approach to Interpretation
12. The Right to Assisted Suicide
I. Facts of the Case
II. Time Dimension of Interpretation
III. The ECtHR’s Reasoning
IV. The Balancing of Static and Evolutive Interpretation
V. The Legitimacy of the Static Approach to Interpretation
13. The Right to Preservation of the Environment
I. Facts of the Case
II. Time Dimension of Interpretation
III. The ECtHR’s Reasoning
IV. The Balancing of Static and Evolutive Interpretation
V. A Stalemate Case