From the Vantage Point of Vulnerability Theory: Algorithmic Decision-Making and Access to the European Court of Human Rights
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From the Vantage Point of Vulnerability Theory : Algorithmic Decision-Making and Access to the European Court of Human Rights. / Godzimirska, Zuzanna; Küçüksu, Aysel; Ravn, Salome Addo.
In: Nordic Journal on Human Rights, Vol. 40, No. 1, 2022, p. 235-249.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - From the Vantage Point of Vulnerability Theory
T2 - Algorithmic Decision-Making and Access to the European Court of Human Rights
AU - Godzimirska, Zuzanna
AU - Küçüksu, Aysel
AU - Ravn, Salome Addo
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The past two decades at the European Court of Human Rights have been marked by various efforts to reduce its backlog of cases through changing the substantive, procedural, and formal practices surrounding access to the Court. Proposals aimed at facilitating these efforts have also rested on the unarticulated premise that solving the ECtHR's backlog problem necessarily involves an either-or choice between improving the Court's efficiency and shrinking individual access to it. This article departs from that premise. Drawing on Martha Fineman's ‘theory of vulnerability’ and her vision for social justice, the article lays out a proposal that allows for the coexistence of efficiency and individual access through a hybrid decision-making (HDM) model. First, we show that from a vulnerability theory perspective, better access to human rights courts is a key component of a just human rights system. Second, we argue that in order to be just, procedures need to be context-sensitive and adopted in ways that acknowledge humans' inherent vulnerability. To support the argument, we draw inspiration from the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, whose current practices help illustrate the point that more equitable access to justice need not be a relic of the past.
AB - The past two decades at the European Court of Human Rights have been marked by various efforts to reduce its backlog of cases through changing the substantive, procedural, and formal practices surrounding access to the Court. Proposals aimed at facilitating these efforts have also rested on the unarticulated premise that solving the ECtHR's backlog problem necessarily involves an either-or choice between improving the Court's efficiency and shrinking individual access to it. This article departs from that premise. Drawing on Martha Fineman's ‘theory of vulnerability’ and her vision for social justice, the article lays out a proposal that allows for the coexistence of efficiency and individual access through a hybrid decision-making (HDM) model. First, we show that from a vulnerability theory perspective, better access to human rights courts is a key component of a just human rights system. Second, we argue that in order to be just, procedures need to be context-sensitive and adopted in ways that acknowledge humans' inherent vulnerability. To support the argument, we draw inspiration from the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, whose current practices help illustrate the point that more equitable access to justice need not be a relic of the past.
U2 - 10.1080/18918131.2022.2078028
DO - 10.1080/18918131.2022.2078028
M3 - Journal article
VL - 40
SP - 235
EP - 249
JO - Nordic Journal of Human Rights
JF - Nordic Journal of Human Rights
SN - 1891-8131
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 289231149