1 - Setting the Scene

Summary

Chapter 1 accounts for the goals and limits of the book and provides an overview of the content, uncertainty, and development of Article 13 in the Court's case law. It describes how Article 13 has developed into a proper right encompassing both procedural rights of access to justice and a substantive right to redress. It, also, explains how Article 13 not only grants a right for the individual, but is an important expression of the principle of subsidiarity upon which the system for the protection of human rights under the Convention is based. Yet, even though the case law concerning Article 13 is abundant, there is still considerable uncertainty concerning the content and scope of the obligations arising therefrom. Further, the case law reveals diverging opinions among judges as to how Article 13 could be further developed. This is connected to the Court's case load and the calls for the improvement of domestic remedies and a more subsidiary protection of human rights, most notably, in the process of reform of the Court and Convention system. How Article 13 could and should be a tool (or not) to mitigate such systemic concerns is a central part of the normative goal of the book.