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Lecturer(s)
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Madleňáková Lucia, JUDr. Ph.D.
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Grochová Martina, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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Content (themes): 1. Functioning of the ECtHR (organisational structure of the Court and the Registry; decision bodies and formations; legal representation; life of the application, single judge decisions) 2. Proceedings before the ECtHR (Rule 39, Rule 47, single judge decisions, communication of an application - IMSI, WECL, observations) 3. Incomplete applications and admissibility criteria (typical errors in applications and how to avoid them; "the admissibility pyramid" - hierarchy of admissibility criteria; different categories of admissibility: procedural grounds, Court's jurisdiction, inadmissibility based on merits; manifestly ill-founded - what does a lawyer look for in an application and how not to get your application dismissed by a single judge 4. Crash course on HUDOC: working with case-law (how to find what you're looking for in HUDOC; other useful sources for case-law research - factsheets, handbooks, guides, commentaries etc.; how to read a judgment (decision) and how to find what you're looking for - time saving tricks; how to make your point using the case-law; scope of an article; interference vs violation; positive and negative obligations) 5. Case assignment (presentation of the real cases to be processed by students, participation of the lawyers from the Forum for Human Rights (or other NGO), assignment of the cases 6. Argumentation in human rights cases (drafting a submission, how to start, how to structure the text, how to be persuasive, how to make a point, how to structure your argument (CRAC method); the art of concise argumentation (i.e. how to fit all of your arguments in the word limit of the application) 7. Mini Moot Court 8. Presentation of partial outputs of the students (Group 1) - presentation of first legal analysis of the case and of the proposal of argumentation, discussion on the appropriate approach to the case, settling the final direction of the argumentation 9. Presentation of partial outputs of the students (Group 2) - presentation of first legal analysis of the case and of the proposal of argumentation, discussion on the appropriate 10. Strategic litigation of human rights cases I - practical workshop on processing human rights cases and their litigation before the ECtHR led by a practicing lawyer specialising in human rights litigation 11. Strategic litigation of human rights cases II - practical workshop on processing human rights cases and their litigation before the ECtHR led by a practicing lawyer specialising in human rights litigation 12. Presentation of final outputs - students will present their final outputs to representatives of the Forum for Human Rights (or other NGO) and discuss next steps
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Training in job and motor Skils, Activating (Simulations, Games, Dramatization)
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Learning outcomes
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Course objectives: The course aims on students who would like to broaden their knowledge in the area of strategic litigation beyond what is taught in compulsory courses. The structure of course allows to acquire deep knowledge. Students will learn to formulate complaints in an effective manner. The course will focus on methods and strategies of argumentation. Students will get acquainted with important sources of international law and attention will be paid to effective work with case-law. Methods of strategic litigation will be presented based on examples of cases prepared for litigation before the European Court of Human Rights. The course thus aims also on students who wish to acquire deeper understanding of the functioning of the ECtHR. Students will familiarize with the internal functioning of the ECtHR and primarily with the rules of proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights. The concept of the course allows for deep understanding of internal procedures of the ECtHR and of the "life" of the application submitted to the Court. Such knowledge is crucial for effective litigation of cases before the ECtHR. The course does not focus on substantive or procedural knowledge which the students should already have but rather on deeper understanding of effective argumentation, on how to think two steps ahead already during proceedings before domestic courts and on how to get the most from the knowledge of how the application is processed by the ECtHR. The course will focus on methods of strategic litigation and of structuring arguments in human rights cases. All the acquired knowledge and skills will be continuously applied while working on real cases of real clients. The course consists of two types of lectures. First type of lectures will be led by Martina Grochová who will convey to students the principles of the proceedings before the ECtHR and of the functioning thereof. These lectures will further focus on implementation of the knowledge in practice and skills training. Students will have the opportunity to draft an application to the ECtHR, they will learn how to effectively read and work with the case-law of the ECtHR and they will draft an applicant's response to Government's observations. They will also participate in mini moot court, thus having an opportunity to experience oral human rights argumentation. The second type of lectures will be held in cooperation with lawyers of NGOs focusing on strategic litigation of human rights cases (e.g. Forum for Human Rights). Students will have the opportunity to work on preparation of litigation of real cases before the ECtHR and will participate on processing of cases in different stages of the proceedings. Students will, hence, acquire theoretical knowledge on the proceedings before the ECtHR, practice skills necessary for litigation of human rights cases before the ECtHR and apply the skills when processing real cases.
Students will connect the acquired theoretical knowledge and their skills. They will improve their argumentation skills and acquire basic knowledge of strategic litigation technics. They will master the mechanism of the proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights. They will learn how to effectively search for, read and work with the case-law and other relevant sources.
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Prerequisites
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The completion of this course is not conditioned upon completion of any other courses.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Student performance, Analyssis of the Student's Portfolio, Final Report
Student is required to actively participate in lectures, work on cases studies and on the assigned real case.
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Recommended literature
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GERARDS, J. (2019). General Principles of the European Convention on Human Rights. Cambridge University Press, 2019, 266 p.
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Guberman, R. (2014). Point Made. How to Write Like the Nations's Top Advocates.Second Edition. Oxford University Press.
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Harris, D., O'Boyle, M., Warbrick, C. (2018). Law of the European Convention on Human Rights. New York: Oxford University Press.
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KMEC, Jiří, David KOSAŘ, Jan KRATOCHVÍL a Michal BOBEK. (2012). Evropská úmluva o lidských právech: komentář. Praha: C.H. Beck.
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Meyer, PN. (2014). Storytelling for Lawyers. Oxford University Press.
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