ECLJ Urges ECHR to Protect Sanctity of Life in Upcoming Case Involving Ireland's Ban on Abortion
(Strasbourg, France) The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is providing a legal analysis defending the sanctity of human life as the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights prepares to hold a hearing on December 9th in a very closely-watched case (A.B.C. v. Ireland). Here is the Statement of Facts.
In this case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will have to decide whether the Irish Constitutional ban of abortion respects the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. Beyond this issue, the Court will have to decide whether an easy and legal access to abortion can be considered as a "human right" in the Council of Europe's 47 Member States.
The ECLJ, which is a third party in this case, filed an amicus brief in November 2008 along with two other pro-life organizations. You can read the amicus brief here.
In October 2009, the ECLJ published a new legal analysis urging the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to protect the rights of the unborn. In this new analysis, the ECLJ insists on the primacy of the right to life within human rights and on the need of respect for national sovereignty. You can read the legal analysis here.
The analysis demonstrates that member States have the sovereign authority to prohibit abortion as a competency stemming from their original responsibility to protect the right to life. The ECLJ contends that it is the natural purpose and duty of the State to protect the life of its people; the people, consequently, hold the right to have their lives protected by the State. The reciprocity between peoples rights and the duty of the State in the field of life and security is traditionally seen as the foundation of public society; moreover, it is the foundation of State authority and legitimacy. Therefore, the authority to prescribe the protection of the right to life belongs originally to the State and is exercised within the framework of its sovereignty.
Consequently, the ECLJ contends that the ECHR has no competency to create a new so called "right to abortion." In fact, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms can not be used to weaken protections afforded to human life guaranteed by a Member State. The Convention provides a floor of protection, not a ceiling; therefore the Court can only supervise if restrictions prescribed by a State to the protection of human life are not abusive.
In addition, the analysis combats the view that "private life" could oppose and limit "the right to life." The Member states themselves - "wishing to strengthen the protection of the right to life guaranteed by the Convention" - have considered that the protection of the right to life shall not be in balance, even when a "penalty imposed by a court of law following a conviction of a crime for which the penalty was provided for by law." Consequently, the right to life shall not be balanced by the individual free will. Privacy is a secondary right and cannot obliterate Irelands sovereignty in applying the primacy of the right to life to the unborn. The right to privacy is not absolute and nor can it create new "rights" at the expense of existing fundamental rights.
Finally, the ECLJ analysis invites the ECHR to consider the protection of the life of the unborn under the fundamental and objective "right to life" perspective, and not within a subjective and varying concept of "privacy."
ECLJ representatives will be present during the hearing at the ECHR on December 9th.
You can read the second ECLJ legal analysis here.
You can read the ECLJ amicus brief here.
You can read the ECHR official "Statement of Facts" here.
The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is an international law firm focusing on the protection of human rights and religious freedom in Europe and worldwide. The ECLJ is affiliated with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) which focuses on protecting religious freedom in the United States. Attorneys for the ECLJ have served as counsel in numerous cases before the European Court of Human Rights. Additionally, the ECLJ has special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations, and is accredited to the European Parliament.