The Legal Culture of the European Court of Human Rights

While the supervision of the European Court of Human Rights constantly grows in importance, little is known about the people, especially the judges, inside the Court. To what extent are human rights sensitive to different traditions and is their work burdened through the plurality of legal, historical-political or vocational experiences among the judges? Looking at the first three years of permanent operation of the Court, this book suggests that it is the legal culture that brings the judges together. Based on interviews, field study observations and an analysis of case law, this book takes a novel approach on European human rights law and provides researchers and practitioners with an important basis for a full understanding of the Strasbourg case law.