Zaštita ljudskih prava pred ESLJP: Pravni realizam na djelu?
Protection of human rights in front of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR): Legal realism in action?

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes the extent to which the European Court of Human Rights uses an approach of judicial activism in its case law, i. e. to what extent its judgments reflect elements of legal realism. It starts from the hypothesis that the Court’s practice so far has been largely marked by activism of judges, which is reflected in the teleological and evolutive interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights. After explaining the basic tenets of legal realism and judicial activism, the presence of activism in the Court’s decisions is analyzed through concrete examples from case law. It is concluded that the Court combines pragmatic elements of legal realism with an effort to strike a balance with the principle of rule of law. Although complete dominance cannot be claimed, it is clear that elements of activism and realism play a significant role in the Court’s reasoning and practice.

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