MINELRES: New Article in JEMIE Special Focus on Developments in Non-Discrimination Legislation, by Sia S. Akermark

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Original sender: William McKinney <mckinney@ECMI.DE>


New Article in JEMIE Special Focus on Developments in Non-Discrimination
Legislation

�kermark, Sia Spiliopoulou. The Limits of Pluralism - Recent
Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights with Regard to
Minorities: Does the Prohibition of Discrimination Add Anything?

http://www.ecmi.de/jemie/download/Focus3-2002_Akermark.pdf

Since the mid-1990s, the European Court of Human Rights has had before
it a number of cases concerning the situation of minorities under
Article 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights-which aims to secure the enjoyment of rights and freedoms without
discrimination inter alia on grounds of association with a national
minority. At present, the number of similar cases pending before the
Court is growing. Through an examination of cases concerning mainly the
nexus between Article 11 and Article 14 as well as Article 8 and Article
14, the author seeks to identify a number of problematic aspects of the
jurisprudence of the Court. It is argued here that this includes
uncertainty as to when and why the Court chooses to examine Article 14;
issues of cumulative violations; issues of evidence; the questionable
principle of prevention; issues of indirect discrimination and last, but
not least, the potential benefits of the entry into force of  Protocol
No.12. To address these problems, the author concludes that there is a
need for greater coherency in the positions adopted by the Court with
respect to minority issues as well as a need for more legal research.