The Rise of Hermeneutics in Human Rights Interpretation in the Case-Law of the ECtHR and the Domestic Courts

Year 2021, Issue: 70, 91 - 118, 31.12.2021

Murat Erdoğan

https://doi.org/10.26650/annales.2021.70.0004

Abstract

This paper aims to argue that over approximately the last 70 years, both constitutional courts in Continental European legal systems and the European Court of Human Rights have implemented an evolutive (dynamic) approach to human rights by making broad interpretation of both constitutional or Convention rights. It also argues that the philosophical grounds of this interpretive approach are consistent with Gadamer’s conception of “philosophical hermeneutics,” which refers to interpretation as a cognitive dialogue on the text, between the author’s and the reader’s intent, which is not strictly bound by an obligation on the reader to adhere to the author’s intent.

Keywords

Legal Hermeneutics, Gadamer, Interpretation of Human Rights, Judicial Review, ECtHR

Thanks

I am extremely grateful for the help and advice of Dr. Benedict Douglas and Dr. Marianna Iliadou in Durham Law School and all my colleagues in Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Faculty of Law for their comments and contributions. Any errors are my own.

AİHM ve Ulusal Mahkemeler İçtihadında Temel Hakların Yorumunda Hermeneutiğin Yükselişi

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, son 70 yılda gerek Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi gerekse de Kıta Avrupası ülkelerindeki Anayasa Mahkemelerinin Sözleşme’de yer alan haklar ya da Anayasalarda yer alan temel hak ve özgürlükleri genişletici bir şekilde yorumlayarak bu haklara evrimsel (dinamik) bir yaklaşım kazandırdıkları öne sürülmektedir. Dahası, Mahkemelerin benimsediği bu yorumsal anlayışın temelinde Gadamer’in “felsefi hermeneutik” adını verdiği bir kavramsallaştırmanın yattığı ileri sürülecektir. Bu anlayış, yorum faaliyetini, yazar ile okuyucunun niyeti arasında, okuyucunun yazarın niyetine sıkı sıkıya bağlı olmadığı bilişsel bir diyalog süreci olarak algılamaktadır.

Keywords

Hukuksal Hermeneutik, Gadamer, Temel Hakların Yorumu, Yargısal Denetim, AİHM

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