Breakfast Briefing with Cornelius Wiesener
Extraterritorial Application of the European Convention on Human Rights in Military Operations: The War in Ukraine
Abstract
This presentation builds on a recently published background paper, which examines whether and how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) applies to military operations abroad. The topic has gained renewed attention due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has led to a record number of inter-state complaints and individual applications before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg. The outcome in those proceedings – and similar cases concerning recent fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan – is not only important for the parties involved. It may also be of high relevance for other Council of Europe (CoE) member states, including Denmark, with regard to their future military operations. This explains their active participation through third-party interventions in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia.
Most central in the pending cases is the issue of extraterritorial jurisdiction. While there is agreement on many situations in which the ECHR may apply abroad, combat situations continue to be the most contentious issue. Another important question is how the Court could take applicable rules of international humanitarian law (e.g. on distinction, proportionality and precaution) into account and whether it should also consider the so-called jus ad bellum, i.e. the fact that Russia is fighting an illegal war of aggression, in its assessment.
About the Speaker
Cornelius Wiesener is a tenure-track assistant professor at iCourts and a member of the InterMil project, which conducts strategic research and provides research-based public-sector consultancy within the field of military studies.
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