Podcast | When humans become migrants

Episode eighteen: Is a convergence between the Inter-American and European Courts of Human Rights in sight?

At this stage in the series, you probably have gained some understanding about the way the two courts operate. Both have the same task of applying human rights conventions, especially in cases brought by individuals. However, they work rather differently. In this podcast, I contemplate the possibility that they may converge more in the future….

Episode seventeen: What effects do we want human rights judgments to have?

If a human rights court knows that a state is going to resist a ruling of violation, should the court refrain from insisting that human rights have been violated and from ordering that the state change its ways? This episode contrasts how the Inter-American and European Courts approach this question. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/05/hrm17_what_effects_do_judgments_have-1p6506z.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems…

Episode sixteen: The Inter-American Court is ready to stand up against states

In this episode I continue my exploration of the approach taken by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In particular I focus upon the Yean and Bosico case which concerned two (unrelated) children of Haitian descent who were born in the Dominican Republic. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/05/hrm16_haitians_in_the_dominican_republic-1iscjps.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link…

Episode fifteen: How the Inter-American Court takes a different approach to human rights

How does the approach of the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights compare to that of the European Court of Human Rights? We start exploring this question through two cases that involved Mexico and the US. Both cases gave rise to advisory opinions. In the first, the Inter-American Court explained how it thought human…

Episode fourteen: Treating nationals and non-nationals equally — a human rights duty

In this episode I discuss the way we currently allow nation states to treat nationals and non-nationals differently. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/04/hrm14_treating_nationals_and_non-nationals_equally-12yunvo.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link to listen). Liberty and equality are the two key principles that underpin human rights law. Every human being should be free, every human being is…

Episode thirteen: All equals?

Would you say it should be acceptable to deny a legally settled foreign worker who has contributed to a national social security system the opportunity to draw on a pension fund simply because he is a foreigner? [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/04/hrm13_all_equals_gaygusuz-1o2zbzq.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link to listen). The European Court of…

Episode twelve: The optimist says the bottle is half-empty

You may wonder why I keep stressing the weaknesses of the Strasbourg case law rather than choosing to focus on its strengths. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/03/hrm12_the_optimist_says_the_bottle_is_half-empty-13nggrc.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link to listen). In a nutshell, this is because I want a strong European Court of Human Rights, a court that is…

Episode eleven: Tamils being returned to civil war

In this episode I look at another landmark human rights case from the late 1980s/early 1990s. [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/03/hrm11_tamils_being_returned_to_civil_war-28deaz6.mp3[/podcast] (If you have problems with the embedded player use this link to listen). Vilvarajah v. the United Kingdom concerned five Tamil young men whose asylum application was rejected and who were returned to the Sri Lankan conflict. Their…

Episode ten: Who was Soering?

How does the European Court on Human Rights respond to applicants who claim they cannot be sent to another country because, once there, they would face inhuman treatment? [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/03/hrm10_who_was_soering-21dhn55.mp3[/podcast] No-one can be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This is inscribed in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights….

Episode nine: When my father’s family fled their home

What you would you do if you and your loved ones were at risk? [podcast]https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/humanrights/files/2015/03/hrm9_when_my_fathers_family_fled_their_home-2bhlu51.mp3[/podcast] In this episode I recall some of the stories of migration that I grew up with as a child in Belgium. In 1940, my father’s family, which included 10 children, felt they had no choice but to flee their home…