DOES ARTICLE 2 OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRESCRIBE AN ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY? THE IMPACT OF RECENT PRACTICE OF EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Ivan B Ilić, Saša Sava Knežević

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.22190/TEME190205042I
First page
607
Last page
620

Abstract


In paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the imposition of the death penalty is permitted, as a departure from the right to life. In the last decades there has been a tendency for the absolute abolition of the death penalty, in times of war and peace. As a result of this effort, almost all European countries abolished the death penalty. In addition, the Council of Europe adopted Protocol 6 and Protocol 13, which completely abolished the death penalty. The European Court also, in its practice, using the principle of "convention as a living instrument", has changed its approach to the scope of the ban on the application of the death penalty. The authors deal with a critical interpretation of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, trying to answer the question, of whether there has been an abrogation of the provision of paragraph 1 of Article 2, so that according to that provision, there is an absolute ban on the application of the death penalty in the Council of Europe member states.


Keywords

right to life, ECHR, ECtHR, death penalty, Protocol 6 and 13

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/TEME190205042I

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