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Counterpedagogy, Sovereignty, and Migration at the European Court of Human Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2021

Jessica Greenberg
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Abstract

What happens to gains in human rights protections if states learn how to use international human rights courts to evade future scrutiny? This article centers on Hirsi Jamaa v. Italy, a landmark 2012 migration case at the European Court of Human Rights. Rights advocates characterized the case as a legal victory for migrants. Subsequent shifts in Italian bordering and policing on the high seas demonstrate unintended consequences of this litigation. While Italy implemented the judgment, compliance went hand in hand with state efforts to undermine rights protections in practice. Italy carved out new areas of discretion among maritime police, human rights advocates, and migrants on the high seas. Ultimately, assessing the impact of case law requires looking not only at judgments and at execution. It requires attention to subsequent policy environments and policing efforts that may violate the spirit, if not the letter, of human rights obligations.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Social Inquiry , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , May 2021 , pp. 518 - 539
Copyright
© 2021 American Bar Foundation

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Footnotes

I presented an early version of this article at the SUNY Buffalo Baldy Center’s 40th anniversary conference, Tempering Power. I wish to thank the conference organizers and participants for their feedback. In particular, I received invaluable comments from Anya Bernstein, Susan Coutin, and Guyora Binder. This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation Law and Science Division under Grant #1824026, Strategies of Influence and Persuasion in Legal Networks. Any errors are my own, and the opinions, findings, and recommendations do not necessarily reflect those of NSF.

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