EU and ECHR?

Original post by Maria.L

Just do a basic search on the ECHR and that will tell you what it is and how it is run. that will answer your question. as to what happens after. Its also impossible to answer your essay without understanding this point. Even wiki has it.

Reply 3

cliffg

Original post by Maria.L

The possibility of Brexit is a complete red herring here. EU treaties and the ECHR are separate international treaties. Yet as the bit of question you have mentioned suggests there is an interrelationship between them. Consider the following:

1. Can a state join the EU without first signing and ratifying the ECHR?
2. Are there signatory states to the ECHR which are not member states of the EU? (answers your main question)
3. What is the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights - does it enshrine the ECHR into EU law? See here:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fundamental-rights/charter/index_en.htm
4. What is the position re EU accession, as a supra-national body, to the ECHR? See here, as a start:
http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-cjeu-and-eus-accession-to-echr.html
5. Does the CJEU take account of ECtHR judgments and vice versa - does one bind or influence the other? To what extent?

Don't get hung up on Brexit - side issue.

Reply 4

Thanks for all the replies. I do assume that leaving the EU does not mean that the UK must withdraw from the jurisdiction from the UK - after all, the ECHR is governed by the Council of Europe.

I'm aware that a member state should ratify the convention; however, the UK as a state already ascribed to the EU before the pre-condition arose, must be exempt on the basis that they are not a new member.

The problem is there is so much uncertainty and so little (from my research) cogent literature which states what will happen to the ECHR should the UK opt to leave the EU (of course, this in determining the interrelationship I think this is a key point - though they are not mutually exclusive as you point out).

Reply 5

why should it make any difference at all? Think you are over complicating it. Not really seeing the uncertainty you keep mentioning, maybe ive missed something.

Reply 6

The Human Right Act 1998 encorporates the ECHR into UK law. Unless that is repealed, we are bound by the ECHR and can rely on the articles within it. The process of repealing it and what it would be replaced by is another issue, but simply leaving the EU wouldn't necessarily mean we aren't bound

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 7

Do you have access to legal databases like Lexis? As this is a hypothetical question as of yet, the best place to look would be academic opinion

Reply 8

Original post by Hann95

Do you have access to legal databases like Lexis? As this is a hypothetical question as of yet, the best place to look would be academic opinion

I do have access to Lexis but, alas, as of yet my search has not found what I'm looking for. I understand the points of the ECHR and, I too cannot see how leaving the EU would render us outside of the jurisdiction of the ECHR. I guess I'll explore this route along with the suggestions advanced by cliff.

Reply 9

I still cant see whats causing you a problem. If we leave then its still there on the statute book and it also exists independently of it. there will be transitional arrangements.

Reply 10

Original post by 999tigger

why should it make any difference at all? Think you are over complicating it. Not really seeing the uncertainty you keep mentioning, maybe ive missed something.

I disagree that I am over complicating it. In relation to the interrelationship of the ECHR and EU, I'm exploring the issue of when - or if - the ECJ takes into account judgments of the ECtHR (prisoner voting rights comes to mind) and the relationship they share. I think the position of the EU's charter of Fundamental Rights is of importance, too.

As I understand it, there are many countries who have an affinity to the ECHR but not the EU, and, of course, Protocol No. 14 ECHR allows the EU to accede to the ECHR.

In highlighting the jurisdictional disparity, I'm merely trying to advance the hypothetical situation as to whether or not invoking article 50 TEU to leave would have any effects on the ECHR - the interrelationship and affinity being my two key points.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 11

Original post by Maria.L

I tend to find WestLaw is better for journal articles than Lexis. I would have thought with Brexit it would have been quite a hot topic to write about. Another idea would be to look if there have been any government consultations about introducing an American style bill of rights

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 12

Original post by Maria.L

Ok will just have to agree to disagree. there are opinions even under google which will at least give you ideas of what to look for.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 13

Original post by Hann95

I tend to find WestLaw is better for journal articles than Lexis. I would have thought with Brexit, it would have been quite a hot topic to write about

I agree; however, the articles I want to access are outside the scope of my university's subscription. I do remember reading a BBC report last week where a professor's paper was hyperlinked a stated that leaving the EU may involve leaving the jurisdiction of the ECHR depending on the interpretation of a treaty, however, my opinion (though I'm an LLB undergrad, not a professor) is that cannot possibly be true - many countries are signatories to the ECHR but not members of the EU.

Reply 14

Original post by 999tigger

Ok will just have to agree to disagree.

Absolutely, different minds and all that. I did discuss the point with my tutor and he said it was a good route to go down to highlight the interrelationship.......

Reply 15

Omen96

Original post by Maria.L

As an EU signatory we are obliged to be an ECHR signatory. The two go hand in hand if you want to be in the EU

Reply 16

Listen to your tutor. I cna see how you can explore it, but wed just reach different conclusions.

Reply 17

Original post by Omen96

As an EU signatory we are obliged to be an ECHR signatory. The two go hand in hand if you want to be in the EU

I agree that it is a prerequisite for new members of the EU to be an ECHR signatory, however, I'm wondering the extent to which this applies? What I'm trying to determine is if we leave the EU, whether or not this will have any impact on our relationship with the ECHR? My guess is no (Russia/Ukraine?)

Reply 18