THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO THE INTERPRETATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA

Abstract

The Article focuses on the cases heard by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) which encompass the interpretation of the 1982 United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). After presenting the general overview of the Court’s maritime-related jurisprudence the author aims at revealing the ‘maritime issues’ that are most often subject to the judicial scrutiny under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The research implies that the most extensive analysis has been conducted by the ECtHR in the ‘maritime cases’ related with the exercise of state jurisdiction at sea (including the arrest of vessels and crews, treatment of sea migrants, etc.). The Court has been quite often called upon to establish whether there had been a violation of the right to inviolability of a person (Article 5 of the ECHR), in other cases it assessed the alleged violations of the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 3 of the ECHR), the right to an effective remedy (Article 13 of the ECHR), on a more rare occasions dealt with other issues in maritime context, such as property rights (Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the ECHR) or forced labour (Article 4 of the ECHR). The interpretation of the UNCLOS provisions by the ECtHR in the light of the ECHR creates a relevant and specific contribution to the development of the law of the sea, enriches the interpretation of international treaties and human rights standards.