Hostname: page-component-f554764f5-c4bhq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-20T15:28:46.980Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The European Court of Human Rights, Amicus Curiae, and Violence against Women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Rachel A. Cichowski
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Are international courts and advocacy group legal mobilization shaping human rights politics? This question poses a theoretical and empirical challenge to state dominated understandings of international litigation. This article theorizes the interaction between advocacy groups and the European Court of Human Rights and the role this participation plays in the enforcement and development of human rights. The analyses examine institutional factors shaping broad trends in mobilization complemented by two in depth studies examining a single mode of participation, amicus curiae and a single area of law, violence against women. The data identify the critical role standing rules, court review powers and group expertise play in transnational rights mobilization and development. The findings bring into question dominant understandings of international law and contribute to a more complex understanding of law in a global age where international courts and societal actors are shaping the direction of rights protection.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 890 - 919
Copyright
© 2016 Law and Society Association.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

The author is grateful to the National Science Foundation, grant no. SES 1322161 for support of this research and to Elizabeth Chrun for her impeccable research assistance. The author would also like to thank David Victor and Emilie Hafner-Burton, Directors of the UCSD School of Global Policy & Strategy, Laboratory on International Law and Regulation, where the author resided on sabbatical leave while writing this article. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Law & Society Association 2015 Annual Meeting, Data and International Courts Workshop, PluriCourts, Oslo, Norway, June 2015 and the Southern California International Law Scholars Workshop, UC Irvine School of Law, February 2016. I appreciated comments from workshop and conference participants especially Erik Voeten, Wayne Sandholtz, and Greg Shaffer as well as thoughtful suggestions from the anonymous reviewers.

References

References

Abbott, Kenneth, Keohane, Robert O., Moravcsik, Andrew, Slaughter, Anne-Marie, & Snidal, Duncan (2000) “The Concept of Legalization,” 54 International Organization 401–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
AIRE (2015) Advice on Individual Rights in Europe (AIRE) Centre Annual Report 2013-2014. London, UK: AIRE. Available at: http://www.airecentre.org/resources.php (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Alter, Karen J. (2014) The New Terrain of International Law: Courts, Politics and Rights. Princeton: Princeton Univ. PressGoogle Scholar
Alter, Karen J., & Vargas, Jeannette (2000) “Explaining Variation in the Use of European Litigation Strategies: EC law and UK Sexual Equality Policy,” 33 Comparative Political Studies 316–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anagnostou, Dia (2010) “Does European Human Rights Law Matter? Implementation and Domestic Impact of Strasbourg Court Judgments on Minority-Related Policies,” 14 International J. of Human Rights 721–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anagnostou, Dia, ed. (2014) Rights and Courts in Pursuit of Social Change: Legal Mobilization in the Multi-Level European System. Portland: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) (2008) Torture in International Law: A Guide to Jurisprudence. Geneva, Switzerland: APT. Available at: http://www.apt.ch/content/files_res/jurisprudenceguide.pdf (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Barclay, Scott, Jones, Lynn, & Marshall, Anna-Maria (2011) “Two Spinning Wheels: Studying Law and Social Movements,” 54 Studies in Law, Politics and Society 1–16.Google Scholar
Bartholomeusz, Lance (2005) “The Amicus Curiae before International Courts and Tribunals,” 5 Non-State Actors and International Law 209–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bickel, Alexander (1962) The Least Dangerous Branch. New York: Bobbs and Merrill.Google Scholar
Bignami, Francesca (2005) “Creating European Rights: National Values and Supranational Interests,” 11 Columbia J. of European Law 242–353.Google Scholar
Brysk, Alison (2009) Global Good Samaritans: Human Rights as Foreign Policy. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cichowski, Rachel A. (2006) “Courts, Rights and Democratic Participation,” 39 Comparative Political Studies 50–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cichowski, Rachel A. (2007) The European Court and Civil Society. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cichowski, Rachel A. (2011) “Civil Society and the European Court of Human Rights,” in Madsen, M., & Christoffersen, J., eds., The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Cichowski, Rachel A. (2013) “Legal Mobilization, Transnational Activism and Gender Equality in the EU,” 28 Canadian J. of Law and Society 209–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cichowski, Rachel A., & Chrun, Elizabeth (2016) The European Court of Human Rights Database (ECHRdb). Available at: http://depts.washington.edu/echrdb/ (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Collins, Paul (2008) Friends of the Court: Interests Groups and Judicial Decision-Making. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Committee Against Torture (2008) Arbitrary Actions of the Nizhny Novgorod Prosecutor's Office Cost the Public Purse a Bomb. Available at: http://www.pytkam.net/mass-media.news/340/youtu.beFormer (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Council of Europe (2010) The European Convention on Human Rights. Strasbourg, France. Available at: http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert (1999) “Can International Organizations be Democractic? A Skeptics View,” in Shapiro, I., & Hacker-Cordón, C., eds., Democracy's Edges. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. 19–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalton, Russell, Scarrow, Susan, & Cain, Bruce (2003) “New Forms of Democracy? Reform and Transformation of Democratic Institutions,” in Cain, B., Dalton, R., & Scarrow, S., eds., Democracy Transformed? Expanding Political Opportunities in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. 1–20.Google Scholar
Darian-Smith, Eve (2013) Law and Societies in Global Context: Contemporary Approaches. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Dolidze, Anna (2012) “Making International Property Law: The Role of Amici Curiae in International Decision-making,” 40 Syracuse J. of International Law and Commerce 119–31.Google Scholar
Dor, Gal, & Hofnung, Menachem (2006) “Litigation as Political Participation,” 11 Israel Studies 131–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eaton, Shana (2004) “Sierra Leone: The Proving Ground for Prosecuting Rape as a War Crime,” 35 Georgetown J. of International Law 873–919.Google Scholar
Epp, Charles (1998) The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists and Supreme Courts in Comparative Perspective. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Equal Rights Trust (2015) Equal Rights Trust Annual Activity Report. Available at: http://www.equalrightstrust.org/content/annual-reports-and-accounts (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Equal Rights Trust (2011) Written Submission of the Equal Rights Trust. Eremia & Others vs. The Republic of Moldova, no. 3564/11. Available at: http://www.equalrightstrust.org/ert_strategic_litigation/index.htm (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
European Court of Human Rights (2014a) Annual Report 2014. Strasbourg, France. Available at: http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Annual_Report_2014_ENG.pdf (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
European Court of Human Rights (2014b) Factsheet – Domestic Violence. Strasbourg, France: Press Unit. Available at: http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Domestic_violence_ENG.pdf (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
European Court of Human Rights (2015) Factsheet – Violence against Women. Strasbourg, France: Press Unit. Available at: http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Violence_Woman_ENG.pdf (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Fábián, Katalin (2010) “Introduction: The Politics of Domestic Violence in Postcommunist Europe and Eurasia,” in Fábián, K., ed. Domestic Violence in Postcommunist States: Local Activism, National Policies and Global Forces. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Galanter, Marc (1974) “Why the ‘Haves’ Come Out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal Change,” 9 Law & Society Rev. 95–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ginsburg, Tom (2003) Judicial Review in New Democracies. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldsmith, Jack L., & Posner, Eric A. (2006) The Limits of International Law. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Graber, Mark A. (1993) “The Non-Majority Difficulty: Legislative Deference to the Judiciary,” 7 Studies in American Political Development 35–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greer, Steven (2006) The European Convention on Human Rights: Achievements, Problems and Prospects. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haddad, Heidi (2012) “Judicial Institution Builders: NGOs and International Human Rights Courts,” 11 J. of Human Rights. 126–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halliday, Terence, & Shaffer, Gregory, eds. (2015) Transnational Legal Orders. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helfer, Laurence, & Voeten, Erik (2013) “International Courts as Agents of Legal Change: Evidence from LGBT Rights in Europe,” 68 International Organization 77–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodson, Loveday (2011) NGOs and the Struggle for Human Rights in Europe. Oxford: Hart Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch (2016) Russia: Government against Rights Groups. Human Rights Watch. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/russia-government-against-rights-groups-battle-chronicle (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Jenness, Valerie, & Grattet, Ryken (2004) Making Hate a Crime: From Social Movement to Law Enforcement. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Keck, Margaret, & Sikkink, Kathryn (1998) Activists across Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Kelemen, R. Daniel (2011) Eurolegalism: The Transformation of Law and Regulation in the European Union. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keller, Helen, & Stone Sweet, Alec, eds. (2008) A Europe of Rights. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kochevar, Steven (2013) “Amici Curiae in Civil Law Jurisdictions,” 122 The Yale Law J. 1653–69.Google Scholar
Kurdish Human Rights Project (1994) News Archive: European Human Rights Commission Agrees to Investigate Two Further Complaints against Turkey. Available at: http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/19-1994-news.htm (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Larsen, Allison Orr, & Devins, Neal (forthcoming) “The Amicus Machine,” 102 Virginia Law Rev.Google Scholar
Liberty (2014) Liberty: A Year in Review. Available at: https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/who-we-are/annual-review (accessed 1 June 2016).Google Scholar
Lindblom, Anna-Karina (2005) Non-Governmental Organizations in International Law. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Lovell, George (2003) Legislative Defferals: Statutory Ambiguity, Judicial Power, and American Democracy. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Lupu, Yonatan, & Voeten, Erik (2011) “Precedent in International Courts: A Network Analysis of Case Citations by the European Court of Human Rights,” 42 British J. of Political Science 413–39.Google Scholar
Madsen, Mikael Rask (2007) “From Cold War Instrument to Supreme European Court: The European Court of Human Rights at the Crossroads of International and National Law and Politics,” 32 Law & Social Inquiry 109–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, Anna-Maria (2006) “Social Movement Strategies and the Participatory Potential of Litigation,” in Sarat, A., & Scheingold, S., eds., Cause Lawyers and Social Movements. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
McCann, Michael W. (1994) Rights at Work: Pay Equity Reform and the Politics of Legal Mobilization. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Merry, Sally Engle (2006) Human Rights and Sexual Violence: Translating International Law into Local Justice. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Meyersfeld, Bonita (2010) Domestic Violence and International Law. Portland: Hart Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Montoya, Celeste (2009) “International Initiative and Domestic Reforms: The European Union Efforts to Combat Violence against Women,” 5 Politics & Gender 325–48.Google Scholar
Mowbray, Alastair (2009) “Crisis Measures of Institutional Reform for the European Court of Human Rights,” 9 Human Rights Law Rev. 647–656.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubenfeld, Jed (2004) “Unilateralism and Constitutionalism,” 79 New York University Law Rev. 1971–2028.Google Scholar
Scheppele, Kim Lane (2006) “Guardians of the Constitution: Constitutional Court Presidents and the Struggle for the Rule Law in Post-Soviet Europe,” 154 University of Pennsylvania Law Rev. 1757–851.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaffer, Gregory, eds. (2014) Transnational Legal Ordering and State Change. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Shapiro, Martin (2002) “The Success of Judicial Review and Democracy,” in Shapiro, M., & Stone Sweet, A., eds., On Law, Politics and Judicialization. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sikkink, Kathryn (2011) The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions Are Changing World Politics. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.Google Scholar
Simmons, Beth (2009) Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squatrito, Theresa (2012) “Opening the Doors to the WTO Dispute Settlement: State Preferences on NGO Access as Amici,” 18(2) Swiss Political Science Rev. 175–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone Sweet, Alec (2000) Governing with Judges. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone Sweet, Alec (2004) The Judicial Construction of Europe. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stroup, Sarah S. (2012) Borders Amongst Activists: International NGOs in the United States, Britain, and France. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Tallberg, Jonas, Sommerer, Thomas, Squatrito, Theresa, & Jönsson, Christer (2013) The Opening up of International Organizations: Transnational Access in Global Governance. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarrow, Sidney (2005) The New Transnational Activism. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treves, Tullio, et al. (2005) Civil Society, International Courts and Compliance Bodies. The Hague, The Netherlands: TMC Asser Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations (2010) Review of the Sexual Violence Elements of the Judgments of the ICTY, ICTR and the Special Court for Sierra Leone in the Light of Security Council Resolution 1820. New York: United Nations Publications.Google Scholar
Van den Eynde, Laura (2013) “An Empirical Look at the Amicus Curiae Practice of Human Rights NGOs before the European Court of Human Rights,” 31 Netherlands Q. of Human Rights 271–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Vet, Freek (2012) “Seeking Life, Finding Justice: Russian NGO Litigation and Chechen Disappearances before the European Court of Human Rights,” 13 Human Rights Rev. 303–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Vet, Freek, & Lyytikäinen, Laura (2014) “Violence and the Human Rights in Russia: How Human Rights Defenders Develop their Tactics in the Face of Danger, 2005-2013,” 19 International J. of Human Rights 979–98.Google Scholar
Vanhala, Lisa (2011) Making Rights a Reality? Disability Rights Activists and Legal Mobilization. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Voeten, Erik (2008) “The Impartiality of International Judges: Evidence from the European Court of Human Rights,” 102 American Political Science Rev. 417–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamin, Alicia Ely, & Gloppen, Siri, eds. (2011) Litigating Health Rights: Can Courts Bring More Justice to Health? Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zemans, Frances (1983) “Legal Mobilization: The Neglected Role of the Law in Political Systems,” 77 American Political Science Rev. 690–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Cases Cited

Tyrer v. UK, no. 5856/72, ECtHR 1978.Google Scholar
Winterwerp v. Netherlands, no. 6301/73, ECtHR 1979.Google Scholar
Young, James & Webster v. UK, no. 7601/76, no. 7806/77 ECtHR 1981.Google Scholar
X and Y v. Netherlands, no. 8978/80 ECtHR 1985.Google Scholar
Soering v. UK, no. 14038/88 ECtHR 1989.Google Scholar
Observer & Guardian v. UK, no. 13585/88 ECtHR 1991.Google Scholar
Sunday Times v. UK, no. 13166/87 ECtHR 1991.Google Scholar
Aksoy v. Turkey, no. 21987/93, ECtHR 1996.Google Scholar
Aydin v. Turkey, no. 23178/94 ECtHR 1997.Google Scholar
Association of Polish Teachers v. Poland, no. 42049/98, ECtHR 1998.Google Scholar
Prosecutor v. Delalić and Others, Case No. IT-96-21, ICTY Trial Chamber II, 1998.Google Scholar
Prosecutor v. Furundžija, Case No. IT-95-17/1, ICTY Trial Chamber II, 1998.Google Scholar
Éskomoravsk v. Czech Republic, no. 33091/96, ECtHR 1999.Google Scholar
ARSEC and Others v. Spain, no. 42916/98, ECtHR 1999.Google Scholar
Asselbourg and Others, no. 29121/95 ECtHR 1999.Google Scholar
VgT v. Switzerland, no. 24699/94, ECtHR 2000.Google Scholar
Comingersoll v. Portugal, no. 35382/97, ECtHR 2000.Google Scholar
Eielectric Srl v. Italy, no. 36811/97, ECtHR 2000.Google Scholar
Tsedek v. France, no. 27417/95 ECtHR 2000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karner v. Austria, no. 40016/98 ECtHR 2000.Google Scholar
T.P. and K.M. v. UK, no. 28945/95 ECtHR 2001.Google Scholar
Z and Others v. UK, no. 29392/95 ECtHR 2001.Google Scholar
Éonka v. Belgium, no. 51564/99 ECtHR 2001.Google Scholar
Johannische Kirche and Peters v. Germany, no. 41754/98, ECtHR 2001.Google Scholar
Christian Federation of Jehovah's Witness v. France, no. 53430/99 ECtHR 2001.Google Scholar
Verdens Gang and Aase v. Norway, no. 45710/99 ECtHR 2001.Google Scholar
Pasalaris and Foundation de Presse v. Greece, no. 60916/00 ECtHR 2002.Google Scholar
Unison v. UK, no. 53574/99, ECtHR 2002.Google Scholar
Federation of Offshore Workers’ Trade Unions v. Norway, no. 38190/97 ECtHR 2002.Google Scholar
Independent News and Media plc v. Ireland, no. 55120/00 ECtHR 2003.Google Scholar
Nachova & Others v. Bulgaria, no. 43577/98, no. 43579/98 ECtHR 2005.Google Scholar
Maslova and Nalbandov v. Russia, no. 839/02 ECtHR 2008.Google Scholar
Women on Waves & Others v. Portugal, no. 31276/05 ECtHR 2009.Google Scholar
A, B, C v. Ireland, no. 25579/05 ECtHR 2010.Google Scholar
Mangouras v. Spain, no. 12050/04 ECtHR 2010.Google Scholar
Haujuova v. Slovakia, no. 2660/03 ECtHR 2010.Google Scholar
Lautsi and Others v. Italy, no. 30814/06 ECtHR 2011.Google Scholar
Anayo v. Germany, no. 20578/07 ECtHR 2011.Google Scholar
El-Masri v. Macedonia, no. 39630/09 ECtHR 2012.Google Scholar
Eremia and Others v. the Republic of Moldova, no. 3564/11 ECtHR 2013.Google Scholar
Câmpeanu v. Romania, no. 47848/08 ECtHR 2014.Google Scholar