Reflections of a Former European Court of Human Rights Judge on his Experiences as a Judge
Reflections of a Former European Court of Human Rights Judge on his Experiences as a Judge

Summary/Abstract: When I was appointed to be a judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or the Court) in 1998 I had already served as a Member of the European Commission of Human Rights for nine years and had the experience of a long career in Cyprus as a lawyer and as a Deputy Attorney-General. With this background I was well acquainted with the problems of the administration of justice and I knew the imperfections of human justice and the forces – personal convictions, inherited instincts, traditional beliefs, education, etc. - which, though not recognised, tug at human beings and give everyone his or her own outlook on life. As aptly put by the great American judge Benjamin Cardozo, “There is in each of us a stream of tendency whether you choose to call it philosophy or not which gives coherence and direction to thought and action. Judges cannot escape that current any more than other mortals.”

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