Monday 3 February 2014

Briefing Paper on Allocating Responsibility in Context of EU Accession to the ECHR

Maarten den Heijer and André Nollkaemper of the University of Amsterdam have written a briefing paper, following an expert seminar last October, on the issue of 'A New Framework for Allocating International Responsibility: the EU Accession to the European Convention on Human Rights', where I was one of the discussants. The paper, part of the SHARES research project is now available online. This is the abstract:
 
This briefing paper reflects on the manner in which the Draft Agreement on the Accession of the European Union (EU) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) allocates international responsibility between the EU and its member States. In particular, it reviews whether the Agreement adequately addresses the gaps in human rights protection that presently arise from the specific relationship between the EU and its member States. It signals several outstanding issues and unresolved questions which require further attention in the negotiation and ratification process, but also in the application of the Agreement after it enters into force.
 
The briefing paper presents the outcomes of the SHARES expert seminar on A New Framework for Allocating International Responsibility: the EU Accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, held on 18 October 2013 in Amsterdam.
 
The text of the briefing paper is based on the contributions by eight experts to the seminar: Pieter Jan Kuijper, Tobias Lock, Jörg Polakiewicz, Christiaan Timmermans (speakers), Antoine Buyse, Martijn de Grave, Maarten den Heijer and Cedric Ryngaert (discussants), as well as by other participants in the seminar. It also incorporates the views of the editors of this briefing paper.