Intensive Course: The Concept of Due Process in the
Case-Law of the European Court of Human Rights

Lucius Caflisch, Honorary Professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies; former judge at the European Court of Human Rights; member of the International Law Commission and of the Institute of International Law.

23-24 April 2009

At least half of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights concerns the right to a fair trial secured by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. That provision, which covers civil and criminal matters, such as the right to a fair and public hearing, the independence of tribunals, the right to tribunals established by law, and, in criminal cases, with items such as the presumption of innocence, the opportunity for the accused to defend himself, to call witnesses and to obtain the services of an interpreter. Article 6 directly applies on the domestic level, and the case-law related to it has affected due process as practiced in Europe and in other parts of the world considerably.