Margaria, Alice --- "Going beyond judgments: exploring the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights" [2019] ELECD 2963; in Deplano, Rossana (ed), "Pluralising International Legal Scholarship" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 84

Book Title: Pluralising International Legal Scholarship

Editor(s): Deplano, Rossana

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 4

Section Title: Going beyond judgments: exploring the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

Author(s): Margaria, Alice

Number of pages: 20

Abstract/Description:

This chapter aims to illustrate how the combination of doctrinal and non-doctrinal methods of research can produce a (more) realistic and in-depth understanding of the approach adopted by the European Court of Human Rights (herein ‘the Court’) in a specific field. Drawing from ethnographic perspectives, this chapter outlines a methodology that, in addition to doctrinal analysis of case-law, aims to reconstruct carefully selected cases by actively engaging with the individuals directly involved and delving into their personal experiences of litigation. Different from the general trend in international legal studies, the proposed methodology combines two of the main methods generally used to conduct qualitative research: document analysis – in particular, the analysis of judgments; and in-depth interviews, targeting a wide range of protagonists, including the applicants, their legal representatives, civil society actors and, certainly, judges and other Court officials who have been involved in litigation. The proposed methodological approach is outlined through references to my ongoing research concerning the Court’s approach to culturally and religiously diverse families, as well as to other studies regarding different areas of case-law. Individuals belonging to religions and cultures that are perceived as clashing with the dominant ways of thinking have approached the Court – and even before the Commission – with a variety of claims, ranging from the refusal to recognise the validity of a Roma marriage or of a purely religious marriage for purposes of granting a survivor’s pension, to being able to adopt a child already cared for under kafalah, as well as to raise one’s child in accordance with one’s religious and cultural beliefs. My research’s main objective lies in understanding how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) system – that is widely depicted as a success story of individual human rights protection – has thus far responded to the needs of these individuals and their families in Europe. Despite focusing on this particular area of case-law, the proposed methodology can easily be adjusted to fit studies pertaining to other issues too.