As the Council of Europe prepares for its upcoming 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government in Reykjavik, SWPS University, Riga Graduate School of Law, and the University of Cologne, are organizing a series of online meetings to discuss the most pressing issues facing the Council, including the significant crisis of the universal character of human rights protection in Europe. The opening webinar will address the future of the European Court of Human Rights.
The European Court of Human Rights in times of political turmoil
The European Court of Human Rights, located in Strasbourg, France, is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights. Its mandate is to protect and enforce the civil and political rights of individuals in Europe, and it is widely considered one of the most significant human rights courts in the world.
However, the Court is currently facing a crisis due to a range of factors, including the war in Ukraine, Russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe in March 2022, and the disregard of the Court's judgments by member states that are embracing democracy based on majority dictate and authoritarianism. These circumstances have raised questions about the Court's future.
The first webinar of the "Road to Reykjavik" series will address these issues, starting with a keynote speech by Professor Angelika Nußberger, a former European Court of Human Rights judge. After her lecture, our discussants, Anastasija Kaplane, LL.M, representing the Riga Graduate School of Law and Filip Cyuńczyk, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor from SWPS University's Faculty of Law in Warsaw will provide critical commentaries. The meeting will be moderated by Professor Adam Bodnar, a renowned expert on human rights and Dean of the Faculty of Law in Warsaw.
The webinar on the “Future of the European Court of Human Rights” will be held on 13 March from 13:00 – 15:00 (Riga time) in English on the Zoom platform.
Please register for the event here:
Road to Reykjavik: webinar series
The 4th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe is scheduled for May 16-17, 2023, in Reykjavik, Iceland, marking the first such meeting in 18 years. It will provide a unique opportunity to discuss urgent issues such as the Russian aggression on Ukraine, the crisis of multilateralism, democratic backsliding, and emerging social problems. Although there are easy solutions to these challenges, dialogue is essential to mitigate their consequences.
As the American philosopher Daniel A. Kaufman pointed out in one of his essays, academic discourse blends knowledge with wisdom. Our responsibility as academics is to seek knowledge to enrich the wisdom of decision-makers, especially during current times of social, political, and legal upheaval in Europe.
The joint webinars hosted by the Riga Graduate School of Law, SWPS University, and the University of Cologne aim to foster international cooperation and address the most vital issues concerning the crisis of human rights protection in Europe.
Keynote Speaker
Angelika Nussberger is a professor at the University of Cologne, where she teaches International Law and Comparative Constitutional Law. From 2011 until 2019, she served as the judge representing Germany at the European Court of Human Rights, and for three years, between 2017 and 2019, she was the Court’s Vice-President. Currently, she is the German member of the Venice Commission and an International Judge at the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Discussants
Anastasija Kaplane
She holds an LL.M degree in International and European Law, with distinction from the Riga Graduate School of Law. She is currently pursuing Ph.D. at the University of Helsinki. Her research interests include state responsibility in cyberspace as well as modern challenges to human rights.
Filip Cyuńczyk
Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
Is a lawyer, specializing in sociology and history of law. His research interests include sociology of law, in particular constitutionalism, relationship between law and group identity, conflict resolution policy, legal regulation of collective memory, and studies on legal education.
Host
Adam Bodnar
Ph.D. / Associate Professor
Is a lawyer specializing in constitutional law and human rights. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Law in Warsaw at SWPS University. He held the position of Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Poland from 2015 to 2021. He is also a former Vice-President of the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights (2010-2015). Throughout his career, he has been working with numerous NGOs. Professor Bodnar is a recipient of the 2018 Rafto Prize for his contribution to the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Poland, and the 2019 Rule of Law Award granted by the World Justice Project organization. In 2020, he was awarded the French National Order of the Legion of Honor, Knight Class. The same year he was awarded the Equality Crown by the Campaign Against Homophobia, a public-benefit non-governmental organization with non-profit status working for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Poland, and an award from the Janina Paradowska and Jerzy Zimowski Foundation for his social engagement and contribution to the protection of human rights.