The protection of human rights has become a cornerstone of modern society, shaping both national and international legal frameworks. In Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) serves as a crucial instrument for safeguarding fundamental rights and freedoms. Since gaining independence in 1993, Slovakia has undergone significant transformations in its legal and political systems, gradually integrating international human rights standards. This country report aims to provide a contextual introduction to the historical development of human rights in Slovakia and the implementation of the ECHR, while also addressing key law-making processes. Furthermore, it explores human rights protection at the national level and the relationship of Slovakia with the Council of Europe. By analysing key legal developments and landmark cases, this study evaluates Slovakia’s achievements and continuing challenges in protecting fundamental rights, providing insights into the future direction of human rights within the broader context of its obligations under the ECHR.
The present study is dedicated to evaluating the participation of the Republic of Moldova in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, better known as the European Convention on Human Rights. This convention established the most effective regional mechanism for the protection of human rights. The state granted its citizens the possibility of exercising the right to individual application before the European Court of Human Rights by ratifying the European Convention on Human Rights in July 1997. Since then, more than 17,000 applications have been submitted to the ECHR alleging that the Moldovan authorities have failed to comply with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. In over 600 cases, the European Court of Human Rights has found violations of the obligations assumed by the Republic of Moldova upon ratifying the European Convention on Human Rights. In this article, we aim to address the Republic of Moldova’s participation in the European Convention on Human Rights in an evolutive manner. Thus, after establishing the historical context in which this regional treaty was ratified, we will describe the actions of the Council of Europe in the Republic of Moldova, identify the most important human rights treaties developed under the auspices of the Council of Europe that have been ratified by the Republic of Moldova, and strive to provide a comprehensive overview of the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights within the national legal order. Finally, this study explores several landmark cases in which the European Court of Human Rights has established general principles. These cases have led to substantive changes in the legal system of the Republic of Moldova. They illustrate how the Court’s jurisprudence has influenced national law-making and institutional reform, contributing to the consolidation of the rule of law and the alignment of domestic norms with European human rights standards.
Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union empowers the European legislator to establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions in the areas of particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension. This legal harmonisation competence was frequently used by the EU and resulted in the adoption of several criminal law directives. The Treaty determines ten areas of crime which can subject to legal harmonisation and most of which have already been regulated at the EU level. The objective of the article is to provide a detailed analysis of the requirements of the legal harmonisation competence, the scope of harmonisation, its procedural conditions and the possibility of the extension of the list of EU crimes. The paper also intends to present and analyse the legislative practice of the EU institutions and tries to formulate the relevant tendencies in connection with the current EU criminal policy.
Regulating human rights and their protection in North Macedonia’s legal system has an important historic dimension, accounting for the historic continuum of the constitutional and legal human rights framework in the country from 1946 to date. The Socialist Republic of Macedonia, as part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), was a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) since 26 January 1965. Although the Macedonian legal system, from 1946 until the start of the democratic transition process in 1990-1991, was considered a part of the socialist systems, Macedonian citizens had constitutional, legal and institutional protection of human rights and freedoms. However, the formal existence of the legislation did not achieve the protection of human rights as a final goal. Hence, in this chapter, several key issues related to the protection of human rights in the Macedonian state will be analysed and elaborated, such as the contextual introduction of the historical development of human rights in the country, the relationship between the Macedonian state and the Council of Europe (CoE) from a human rights perspective, the CoE human rights conventions to which North Macedonia is a State Party, elaboration on the national implementation (the process and time of accession/succession /ratification) of the ECHR, how human rights protection obligations deriving from the ECHR are reflected in the constitution and/or other major acts of the country and the major law-making processes that took place in the country due to the ECHR. The chapter includes several landmark cases of North Macedonia before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), elaborated in detail.
This article is devoted to the study of the issue of human rights protection in Ukraine in accordance with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as on the basis of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The author examines the historical development of human rights and their protection in Ukraine, based on the main legal acts in force in different historical periods of Ukraine's development. The relations between Ukraine and the Council of Europe in terms of human rights protection were studied. The author analyses international legal instruments, in particular, individual conventions of the Council of Europe on human rights to which Ukraine is a party (in particular, the main focus is on the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) and their place in the system of Ukrainian legislation, and also examines the issues of national implementation (process and time of accession / succession / ratification) of the Council of Europe conventions on human rights. The author highlights how the obligations to protect human rights arising from the ECHR are reflected in the Constitution of Ukraine. The author analyses the main legislative processes in Ukraine due to the ECHR, as well as the most significant cases considered by the ECtHR against Ukraine, their main points, and how the decisions on the latter affected Ukrainian legislation and human rights and their protection in general. The author concludes that the Council of Europe conventions, in particular the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, have a significant impact on the protection of human rights in Ukraine, as they set common European standards that contribute to the improvement of national legislation and practice. In addition, the ECHR guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms such as the right to life, liberty and security of person, fair trial, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and protection from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. Ukrainian citizens have the right to apply to the European Court of Human Rights in case of violation of their rights guaranteed by the ECHR. This provides an additional level of protection when all national remedies have been exhausted. ECHR judgments against Ukraine often become the basis for changes in national legislation and court practice to bring them into line with the standards of the Convention. Ukraine's ratification of Council of Europe conventions and implementation of their provisions is an important tool for improving the human rights protection system, raising standards of democracy and the rule of law, and adapting national legislation to European norms.
