Jukka Viljanen: Interpretative doctrines of the European Convention on Human Rights and the changing division of responsibilities in the human rights system
“I study the influences of the ECHR’s doctrines of the European Convention on Human Rights at the national and international levels. I assess the future challenges that will come up in the human rights discourse and examine how the related division of responsibilities is changing between the national and international levels,” Viljanen describes.
As Viljanen says, it would be extremely challenging to reform the treaty obligations set out in the Convention, given the current international political climate. It is therefore increasingly important to develop the interpretation of the Convention and human rights structures so they can respond to the greatest challenges facing our society.
“Dynamic interpretation becomes particularly important in cases where the ability of the Convention to respond to the problems of modern society is put to the test. For example, the writers of the European Convention on Human Rights had different views on the rights of sexual minorities and structural discrimination,” Viljanen notes.
According to Viljanen, one of the goals of human rights researchers is to make sure national structures and operational models are increasingly aligned with the evolutive and dynamic nature of the obligations set out in human rights conventions.
“From the perspective of the international human rights monitoring system, this means a shift from an international to a national focus.”
