The European Court of Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The European Court of Human Rights - Essay Example This is with the respect that human rights and freedoms should be upheld and respected at all costs. In some instances, the European Court of Human Rights has come under sharp scrutiny and focus. This is a direct result of its overall mandate, jurisdictional application and accrued results (Mignon, 2012). This paper will dissect an article on the European Court of Human Rights. It will provide an in depth analysis and summation of the article with the aim of synthesizing the author’s thoughts. It should be realized that the need and respect for international justice and reprieve was one of the leading building blocks of the European Court of Human Rights. As a direct result, the pressure that the court faces over the years has created scenarios where the United Kingdom has opted to drop out of the convention. The court is experiencing fierce battles with many terming it a gross violator of human rights. This is a direct result of the many rulings and judgments made that favor terrorists and prisoners at the expense of ordinary people (Smith & Van-Der-Anker, 2005). In other instances, the court has been observed to blatantly ignore common sense in many of its rulings. During the formation of the court, Sir Winston Churchill envisioned a judicial process that could never interrupted. This was an emergent need as many governments had submerged many of their judicial ideals in totalitarianism and dictatorship. Churchill’s ideology was highly strengthened as the world watched the disaster that claimed lives during the Nazi regime. The court gained powers and support to ensure that it could adequately deal with such international injustices (Mignon, 2012). It is not possible to ignore the amount of work that has been concluded by the court. The court has set historical rulings at both individual and national level. This has guaranteed many people in Europe, rights and privileges that they could not previously attain. Despite this, there is a frenzy of r eactions that have decried the decisions arrived at by the court. In an analytical way, the author states that there are instances where the court has shrugged off external opinions regarding judicial interpretation (Smith & Van-Der-Anker, 2005). This is especially in cases where the court is seen to have handed down an unpopular judgment. In other areas, it has been observed that the court has failed to offer compensation to plaintiffs that rightfully deserved compensation. This is one of the reasons why the change of laws to counter the court’s rigidity has been presented by external pressures. The back log of cases that the court is experiencing is a direct result of the lengthy periods that take to interpret laws (Mignon, 2012). This results in inefficiency as speedy judgments are made without due consideration for all the required legal proceedings. In other areas, the court struggles to apply existing laws to new states. This is because the laws may not be directly appl icable in the new states. In conclusion, the author accepts that the creation of the European Court of Human Rights was a formidable idea. Over the years, the court has deliberated on a lot of issues. This is a direct result of law application and understanding (Keller & Sweet, 2008) . However, despite this positive strides, there a few areas that have been left behind. As a result, laws have been misinterpreted, a myriad of cases pending, threats of