Inconsistent Deliberations or Deliberate Inconsistencies?<br>The Consistency of the ECtHR’s Assessment of Convictions based on International Norms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18352/ulr.176Keywords:
Article 7(1) ECHR, international norms, legality, retrospectivityAbstract
Some of the most controversial cases before the European Court of Human Rights are those that deal with the conviction of applicants for international crimes on the basis of international law. In each case, the Court takes a seven-step approach to assess whether the international legal basis on which defendants are convicted is in conformity with Article 7(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Six such cases have come before the Court so far. This article analyzes the degree to which the case law of the Court is consistent with the default approach of applying these seven steps. It finds that there are several inconsistencies, most of which are detrimental to the applicants. The ambiguity thus created leads to uncertainty for all the parties involved.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2011 The Author(s)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant Utrecht Law Review right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in the Utrecht Law Review.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in Utrecht Law Review.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Once accepted for publication, the final version of the paper must be provided. A completed and signed copyright form, which will be sent by the Managing Editor, must accompany each paper. By signing the form the author states to accept the copyright notice of Utrecht Law Review. The copyright notice for authors is also included in the copyright acceptance form.