EJIL:The Podcast! Episode 7: “Walking Back Human Rights in Europe?” ‬

In this episode of the podcast, Sarah Nouwen is in conversation with Laurence Helfer (Harry R. Chadwick, Sr. Professor of Law, Duke Law School) and Erik Voeten (Peter F. Krogh Professor of Geopolitics and Justice in World Affairs, Georgetown University) about their article “Walking Back Human Rights in Europe?” which was published in the latest issue of EJIL. In their article, Professors Helfer and Voeten consider whether the European Court of Human Rights is shifting in a regressive direction. They do so by analysing all separate and minority opinions of the Court’s Grand Chamber between 1998 and 2018, focussing on opinions asserting that the Grand Chamber has tacitly overturned prior rulings or settled doctrine in a way that favours the respondent state.

The conversation begins with a discussion of what it mean to “walk back human rights” and how one assesses whether human rights are being walked back? The discussion also extends to the art of co-authoring academic work, particularly one such as this, written by people from different disciplines. How does one keep a single voice in a co-authored text?

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