Journal of Policy & Governance

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VOLUME: 03(02) (DECEMBER 2023)

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M – 00369Review Article

The Doctrines of Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation: A Review of the European Court of Human Rights

Peter Nyeronvwo Komiti

Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria.

Email: peterkomiti@nigerianbar.ng | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5569-8844

Journal of Policy & Governance, 03(02) (December 2023), 59-69. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg030203

Received: 30 October 2023

Published: 31 December 2023

Reviewed: 21 November 2023

Accepted: 10 December 2023

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ABSTRACT

The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom (ECHR) - the focus of this work - in its conceptualisation as a “living instrument” and a bulwark against human rights abuse in Europe, has been construed with different canons of interpretation by the European Court of Human Rights (the Strasbourg Court), including the doctrines of the Margin of Appreciation and the evolutive interpretation. This work aims to review the doctrines of the Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation from the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court by attempting a foray into the debates emanating from the court’s interpretative jurisprudence. It also interrogates how the ECHR is interpreted in the context of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). The method adopted is doctrinal, with a critical and analytical approach that involves desk and library research. The work relies on primary and secondary materials such as relevant case laws of the Strasbourg Court, legislations, textbooks, journal articles, conference proceedings/papers, online documents, and news to critically evaluate the significance of the doctrines of the Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation to the realisation of the objectives of the ECHR. The article investigates how the Strasbourg Court employs the doctrines of the margin of appreciation and evolutive interpretation in achieving the objectives and purpose of the ECHR. The work finds that regardless of their criticism as judge-made doctrines without normative basis, the doctrines of the Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation as applied by the Strasbourg Court align with the rules of treaty interpretation as per the VCLT and, thus, remain the best canon of interpretations befitting for the ECHR. This is so considering that interpretation and applications of laws are undertaken in an ever-changing world that requires dynamic laws that could adapt to new situational contexts that are not initially contemplated at the time of treaty negotiations and formations.

Keywords: Margin of Appreciation; Evolutive Interpretation, European Convention on Human Rights, Strasbourg Court, Treaty Interpretation

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HOW TO CITE THIS PAPER?
APA Style

Komiti, P. N. (2023). The Doctrines of Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation: A Review of the European Court of Human Rights. Journal of Policy & Governance, 03(02), 59-69. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg030203

Harvard Style

Komiti, P. N. (2023). The Doctrines of Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation: A Review of the European Court of Human Rights. Journal of Policy & Governance, 03(02): 59-69. Doi: https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg030203

ACS Style

Komiti P. N. The Doctrines of Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation: A Review of the European Court of Human Rights. Journal of Policy & Governance, 2023, 03 (02), 59-69. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg030203

Chicago/Turabian Style

Komiti, Peter Nyeronvwo. 2023. “The Doctrines of Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation: A Review of the European Court of Human Rights”. Journal of Policy & Governance, 03 no. 02: 59-69. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg030203

AAA Style

Komiti, Peter Nyeronvwo. 2023. “The Doctrines of Margin of Appreciation and Evolutive Interpretation: A Review of the European Court of Human Rights”. Journal of Policy & Governance, 03 (02): 59-69. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg030203

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