The Burgeoning Minority Rights Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

Human Rights Quarterly, Volume 24, Number 3, August 2002, pp. 736-780 (Article)This article will examine the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (Court), as it relates to, and possibly impinges on, minority groups. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention) contains no minority rights provision akin to Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Therefore, there is no direct way for members of minority groups to claim minority rights at the Court, although the Court has held that member states are under an obligation to uphold international standards in the field of the protection of human and minority rights. In 1993, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in Recommendation 1201, did propose a new protocol to the European Convention providing for minority rights. Recommendation 1201 was rejected by the Heads of State and Government meeting of the Council of Europe at its Vienna Summit in October 1993. The Council of Europe did pioneer the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 1995, but it contains no complaint mechanism for individuals or groups. Nevertheless, there is a burgeoning minority rights jurisprudence of the Court based on interpretation and application of the European Convention.