Modern Law Review · 2017 · 34 citations · 0 references
LawCriminal LawHuman Rights LawCriminal LiabilityHuman RightsPhilosophy Of LawCrimes Against HumanityCriminal JusticeEuropean LawHuman DignityInternational Human Rights LawRight To LifeDoctrine Of RightEuropean Human Rights LawHuman Rights TheoryPositive Obligations To Protect LifeRight To Liberty
Abstract What is the relationship between the right to life and criminal liability, and what should it be, given the significance we rightly attribute both to human life and to human freedom? This article explores the circumstances in which the European Court of Human Rights imposes a positive obligation to criminalise and pursue criminal forms of redress, and concludes that the Court's doctrine carries the potential of both coercive overreach and dilution of the right to life itself. These problems are compounded by opacity in the Court's doctrine. I propose a way forward that takes both the right to life and human freedom seriously.