Work

ECtHR jurisprudence amid political shifts: rolling back the protection against pushbacks

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this article, we scrutinise the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments issued in cases of border protection and pushbacks since 2016. We argue that these judgments issued amid political shifts on national and regional levels and mounting criticism of the Court have generated interconnected effects of (1) lowering the standards of protection of the people on the move; (2) shifting the emphasis from human rights protection at the border towards protection of the border; and (3) particularisation of rights protection by limiting protection of certain groups of people on the move. Such a process leads, as we argue, to undermining the Court’s original mandate from primarily safeguarding individuals’ human rights (the person-centric mandate) towards foregrounding the sovereignty of states.

Source: The International Journal of Human Rights

DOI: 10.1080/13642987.2025.2552950

Authors: Witold Klaus, Magdalena Kmak

Institutions: Instytut Nauk Prawnych, Polish Academy of Sciences, Åbo Akademi University

Language: English

Topic: Gender and Women's Rights

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funders: Academy of Finland, Universität Bielefeld, Strategic Research Council, HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council