Luring NGO’s to International Courts: A Comment on CLR v. Romania
Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (ZaöRV/HJIL 75 (2015), 635-669).
iCourts Working Paper Series, No. 288 (2022)
39 Pages Posted: 6 May 2022
Date Written: May 3, 2022
Abstract
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) can contribute to the success of international courts by bringing important cases to these courts, publicizing their judgments, and monitoring the enforcement of their judgments. However, NGOs serve their own strategic interests, which do not necessarily concur with the goals of international courts. This essay explores the rules of standing and third party intervention in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in light of a recent ECtHR judgment that expanded the ability of NGOs to serve as applicants. The essay suggests changes to the rules for NGOs’ intervention that can maximize the benefit the ECtHR will obtain from interacting with NGOs. Lessons learned from this analysis are then applied to other international courts.
Keywords: European Court of Human Rights, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Legal Standing
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