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

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.