PhD student: Mr W.E. Hommes

Promotors: C. Eckes, M. de Wilde

Duration: 1/9/2017 - 31/8/2021

PhD defence: Amsterdam, 19/4/2023

Abstract:

In my research, I aim to show the processes of receiving and shaping European Human Rights in the context of the Netherlands, with a particular focus on the European Convention on Human Rights. From the limited value which was attributed to it when it came into force in 1954, it transformed into a veritable constitutional document in recent years. How did this happen? By taking a historical-legal approach, focusing on the reception of these European Human Rights by key national actors in the period 1945-2018, I seek to answer this question. Moreover, the research aims to show how processes of receiving are never a purely passive state of affairs. Developments at the European level create ripples in the national context which subsequently move back towards the European sphere, thereby forming an intricate and interactive relationship. If we want to understand why the European Convention had its breakthrough, it does not suffice to focus on the expanding body of case law of the Court on the one hand or on the high number of applications on the other: I think it is precisely in the interaction with national contexts this process can be explained.