Human Rights Backlash: The Judicial Story

Please join us for a talk with András Sajó, former judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR has a jurisdiction of 800,000,000 people. It was the first international court where individual human rights complaints were judicially considered, rendering enforceable judgments against sovereign states. The ECHR has changed the law in Europe for the better in many ways. Recently, however, it has been responding to the populist mood that reclaims state sovereignty, and judicial doctrines of the ECHR seem to have moved to deferentialism in the name of “subsidiarity.” The talk will discuss this development within the broader context of human rights fatigue.

András Sajó is a University Professor at CEU and Global Visiting Professor of Law at New York University Law School. Professor Sajó was the founding dean of Legal Studies at CEU. In addition to his stature as a prominent constitutionalist, he is also a distinguished scholar in the human rights field, including media regulation.Professor Sajó has been extensively involved in legal drafting throughout Eastern Europe. In addition, he participated and/or advised in drafting the Ukrainian, Georgian, and South African constitutions. He served as Counsel to the President of the Republic of Hungary (1991-1992) and chaired the Media Codification Committee of the Hungarian Government (1994). He also was the principal draftsman of the Environment Code for the Hungarian Parliament (1991-1992), as well as the founder and speaker of the Hungarian League for the Abolition of the Death Penalty. He has also served as Deputy Chair of the National Deregulation Board of Hungary.