<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The Internet-related cases coming to the European Court of Human Rights provide a good illustration of the challenges posed to the protection of human rights as based on the European Convention of Human Rights drafted in 1950. Considering that the Convention is a 70-year-old instrument, the Strasbourg Court has to deal with these cases using the body of principles and interpretation methods and techniques that has been developed so far, and in particular the ‘living instrument’ doctrine. In this study I propose to explore some main threads in the Court’s jurisprudence on Internet-related cases, outlining the specific nature of Internet-related cases, discussing the problem of rights connected with the Internet as well as the impact of the Internet on such classical rights as freedom of expression and the right to privacy. I conclude that the Internet-related case law of the Convention is in a process of constant development. The Strasbourg Court has demonstrated that it is capable of dealing with Internet-related cases based on general Convention norms and using its well-developed interpretation techniques. The striking feature of Strasbourg’s case law is the ECtHR’s recognition of the considerable importance of the Internet as regards the exercise of freedom of expression, and in particular freedom to seek and access information. Although the ECtHR regards the Internet as a communication medium, however, it recognises its specific features which affect the performance of rights protected by the Convention as well as dangers it poses for the protection of human rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.</p>
</abstract>

The Internet-related cases coming to the European Court of Human Rights provide a good illustration of the challenges posed to the protection of human rights as based on the European Convention of Human Rights drafted in 1950. Considering that the Convention is a 70-year-old instrument, the Strasbourg Court has to deal with these cases using the body of principles and interpretation methods and techniques that has been developed so far, and in particular the ‘living instrument’ doctrine. In this study I propose to explore some main threads in the Court’s jurisprudence on Internet-related cases, outlining the specific nature of Internet-related cases, discussing the problem of rights connected with the Internet as well as the impact of the Internet on such classical rights as freedom of expression and the right to privacy. I conclude that the Internet-related case law of the Convention is in a process of constant development. The Strasbourg Court has demonstrated that it is capable of dealing with Internet-related cases based on general Convention norms and using its well-developed interpretation techniques. The striking feature of Strasbourg’s case law is the ECtHR’s recognition of the considerable importance of the Internet as regards the exercise of freedom of expression, and in particular freedom to seek and access information. Although the ECtHR regards the Internet as a communication medium, however, it recognises its specific features which affect the performance of rights protected by the Convention as well as dangers it poses for the protection of human rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.

The European Court of Human Rights and Internet-Related Cases

Białostockie Studia Prawnicze

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"The European Court of Human Rights and Internet-Related Cases"}

The Internet-related cases coming to the European Court of Human Rights provide a good illustration of the challenges posed to the protection of human rights...

The European Court of Human Rights and Internet-Related Cases

Publicado en línea: 22 oct 2021

Páginas: 109 - 133

Recibido: 10 mar 2021

Aceptado: 30 jun 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2021.26.03.06

Palabras clave
human rights, Internet, the European Convention of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights

© 2021 Adam Wiśniewski, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The European Court of Human Rights and Internet-Related Cases

Publicado en línea: 22 oct 2021

Páginas: 109 - 133

Recibido: 10 mar 2021

Aceptado: 30 jun 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2021.26.03.06

Palabras clavehuman rights, Internet, the European Convention of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights

© 2021 Adam Wiśniewski, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Palabras clave
human rights, Internet, the European Convention of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights