European Convention on Human Rights
and ECtHR Case-Law
Maria Voskobitova
About
A collection of 11 courses focusing on individual rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as procedures for submitting complaints to UN human rights bodies.
This collection of courses will be useful to anyone who wants to understand the system of human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and how these guarantees are applied in practice.
Particular attention is paid to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which for more than 50 years has shaped approaches to the interpretation and application of the Convention’s provisions. The Court’s legal principles and standards have had a significant influence on the understanding of the scope and content of human rights and on their protection, both at the regional level and within the national legal systems of Council of Europe member states.
Studying the materials in this collection will not only provide participants with an understanding of the key rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention, but will also help them develop the ability to apply relevant legal standards when analysing practical situations and assessing potential human rights violations.
Each course consists of one or two interactive learning modules. The modules are designed as simulations using case studies. By working through a practical legal problem, learners become familiar with a proposed legal analysis framework for situations involving rights protected by the Convention. Each course requires learners to read several judicial decisions and answer questions about them, as well as complete questions relating to the analysis of the case study.
All courses have been developed using a consistent methodological approach and are presented on the platform in a recommended order. Each course focuses on one of the rights guaranteed by the Convention and introduces the ECtHR’s approaches to its interpretation and application, taking into account the specific features of legal analysis and the particularities of the right concerned.
At the same time, each course is self-contained and does not depend on completion of the other courses. Participants can therefore select the topics that are most relevant to their interests and complete the courses in any order.
Each course also includes instructions and a feedback questionnaire. The supplementary materials section contains useful links and additional resources.
The courses were developed as part of projects implemented by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) in 2020–2022 and were designed for a Russian-speaking audience of lawyers and human rights activists.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the courses, participants will be able to:
- Navigate the system of human rights protection under the European Convention on Human Rights and understand the role of the European Court of Human Rights;
- Identify the Convention rights and guarantees applicable to a particular legal situation;
- Analyse practical cases using the relevant provisions of the ECHR and the case-law of the ECtHR;
- Apply legal analysis frameworks to assess potential violations of Convention rights;
- Analyse and use legal principles established in judgments of the European Court of Human Rights;
- Assess the admissibility of a potential application to the ECtHR against the applicable admissibility criteria;
- Navigate the procedures for submitting complaints to international UN human rights mechanisms.
Courses
1. Right to Life
The course examines the scope of the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the ECtHR’s approach to assessing violations. It covers the State’s obligations to protect life, investigate deaths, and address the use of lethal force.
2. Prohibition of Torture
The course explores the absolute prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 3 of the Convention. Participants examine the ECtHR’s standards for assessing treatment, State responsibility, and the obligation to conduct effective investigations.
3. Right to Liberty and Security
The course examines the protection against arbitrary deprivation of liberty under Article 5 of the Convention. It focuses on the ECtHR’s approach to the lawfulness of detention, procedural safeguards, and judicial review.
4. Right to a Fair Trial
The course focuses on the guarantees of a fair hearing under Article 6 of the Convention, including access to court, independence and impartiality, equality of arms, and other procedural safeguards. Participants explore how the ECtHR assesses fairness in practice.
5. Right to Respect for Private and Family Life
The course examines the scope of the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence under Article 8. It explores the circumstances in which interference with these rights may be justified and the principles used by the ECtHR to assess proportionality.
6. Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion
The course examines the protection of freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Article 9 of the Convention. It explores the distinction between the freedom to hold beliefs and the freedom to manifest them, as well as the circumstances in which restrictions may be justified.
7. Freedom of Expression
The course examines the scope of freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Convention and the ECtHR’s approach to balancing this freedom against competing interests. Particular attention is given to restrictions on expression and the assessment of their necessity and proportionality.
8. Freedom of Assembly and Association
The course explores the protection of peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Article 11 of the Convention. It examines the State’s positive and negative obligations and the ECtHR’s approach to restrictions on assemblies and associations.
9. Protection of Property Rights
The course examines the protection of property under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention. Participants explore the ECtHR’s approach to deprivation and control of property, State interference, and the requirement to strike a fair balance between individual rights and the public interest.
10. Admissibility Criteria
The course introduces the key admissibility requirements for applications to the European Court of Human Rights. It examines practical issues such as exhaustion of domestic remedies, compliance with time limits, victim status, jurisdiction, and other grounds for inadmissibility.
11. Applying to UN Bodies
The course provides an introduction to the procedures for submitting individual complaints to UN human rights treaty bodies. It focuses on the basic requirements, available procedures, admissibility considerations, and practical aspects of preparing an individual communication.
Course Author and Instructional Designer
Maria Voskobitova
PhD in Law, expert in international human rights protection, practice-oriented legal education and interactive teaching methods, instructional designer, and author of simulation-based courses on lawyers’ professional skills.
Each course also features invited experts.
Registration
Our courses are held on a digital learning platform, Moodle. Before you create your account on Moodle, we have some notes for your and others’ digital security.
- When you register, you can use a nickname. Nicknames with offensive, racist or sexist undertones will not be accepted.
- Communication outside of the platform is not private. It is a solidarity action with people who would like to stay anonymous for different reasons. Please use our secure platform to communicate with others and respect their choices of communication channels.
- We aim to create an inclusive learning environment with our participants and educate ourselves in a more inclusive language. Be eager and tolerant to learn from each other and challenge any discriminating language. You can have a look at it here.
Creating a new account and registering to a course on Moodle
1. The link will take you to the Off University Moodle homepage.
2. Click the “Log in” button on the top right side of the page.
If you have an account on Off University Moodle, please login and continue from step 7 below.
3. Scroll down to see “Create new account” and click the button.
4. Please fill in the fields marked as *required.
You can use false information to protect your identity and increase your safety. You can enter a nickname, a false email address that resembles the format, such as name@example.org etc. Please note down your user name and password in a safe place.
5. Once you created your account, please wait until the next working day to continue.
Your account needs activation which will be done by Off University. We will need some time to activate your account. This can take up to 24 hours on weekdays and longer on weekends.
6. Please login to check whether your account it active. Once you can login, you will find the available courses on the home page of Moodle and will be able to register by clicking the course title.
7. You can now discover the course page. The first item on the page, General, contains the syllabus and the announcements. Please follow these announcements to stay up to date about your course.
11 Self-Paced Courses
1. Right to Life
2. Prohibition of Torture
3. Right to Liberty and Security
4. Right to a Fair Trial
5. Right to Respect for Private and Family Life
6. Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion
7. Freedom of Expression
8. Freedom of Assembly and Association
9. Protection of Property Rights
10. Admissibility Criteria
11. Applying to UN Bodies
Language
Russian
Duration
~3 hours
