About the symposium
To mark the 50th anniversary of the entering into force of the European Court of Human Rights, the Centre of European Constitutionalization, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, is organizing an international symposium Saturday-Sunday March 21-22, 2009 titled:
A Unique European Institution:
The European Court of Human Rights after 50 Years
The symposium will focus on the European Court as an example of one of the most successful and effective international legal institutions ever created. The objective is to examine both the original and contemporary political and legal history of the European Court. Looking back after 50 years, we are moreover interested in understanding what made this Court such a particular international and European institution, and how these experiences potentially can be transferred to international legal institution-building in other regions and areas of law.
A number of leading international human rights scholars and practitioners have accepted to participate, including Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC, former president of the Court, professor Luzius Wildhaber, and professor A. W. Brian Simpson, as well as Robert Harmsen, Eric Voeten, Laurent Scheeck, Rachel A. Cichowski, Stéphanie Hennette-Vauchez, Jonas Christoffersen and Mikael Rask Madsen.
The conference will debate mainly the following subject-areas:
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Law, Politics, and the Genesis of the European Court
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The Political Challenge of the European Court
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The Institutional Orientation of the European Court
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The European Court in Society
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The ECHR and the European Space of Human Rights
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The European Court and the Global Human Rights Regime
The symposium will be held at the historical premises of the University of Copenhagen in the centre of town. The Symposium is organized by Jonas Christoffersen and Mikael Rask Madsen of the Centre for European Constitutionalization and sponsored by University of Copenhagen Research Priority Area "Europe in Transition",