The impact of the European Convention on Human Rights on law and politics in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe

The case of housing

At the lunch seminar, Olga Pushina will present her PhD project that examines the role of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the democratic transition process of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

As a case study, it discusses how the ECHR and the case law of the ECtHR influenced housing policies in the CEE countries, promoting compliance with the principles of the rule of law and good governance. In particular, it seeks to explain why transitional policies in the housing sector failed to respect human rights protected in the ECHR and whether the ECHR system was able to offer adequate redress to the victims affected by these policies. Based on the Douglas C. North’s theory of institutional change, as a general underlying theme, the study discusses the role of law in the process of post-socialist transition.

Bio

Olga Pushina is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lapland. She is a member of research groups ‘Law, Technology and Sustainability Transitions’ (Faculty of Law) and ‘Welfare, Work and Citizenship’ (Faculty of Social Sciences). Among research topics she is interested in are the role of property rights in socio-economic development and the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights on national legal systems, policies and societies.