Covid – 19 pandemic: human rights protection under the European Convention on Human Rights

Abstract

The aim of the present dissertation is to address the impact on human rights protection of the Covid-19 pandemic in the light of the European Convention on Human Rights. After an overview of the rights engaged by the Covid-19 pandemic and by States’ response, the dissertation examines the positive obligations on States and derogation in the context of the sanitary situation. Lastly, what took place is a presentation of the still developing Strasbourg Court case-law on human rights during the health crisis. The thesis is organized as follows: Part I sets the applicable legal framework established by the Convention. The ECHR rights, mostly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and by government responses to it, are briefly analyzed, while the balancing of these rights against public interest by the Court is discussed, too. Part II focuses on the recalibration of the human rights during the health crisis. In the first Section, the positive obligations on States are examined, focusing on the protection of life and health and the protection of vulnerable groups. In the second Section, the main points of the discussion about the derogation under Article 15 of the Convention are presented. Last but not least, the third Section is about the ECtHR. On the one hand, the Court’s case-law on human rights restrictions during the health crisis is thoroughly demonstrated. On the other hand, its role in times of this crisis is critically illustrated.