Drittwirkung is a legal concept originally developed in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
courts that presumes that an individual plaintiff can rely on a national bill of rights to sue another individual or the government for the violation of those rights.
It was originally developed in the 1950s, but has gained traction in various other national legal systems in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
as well as the jurisprudence of the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
, in the case of ''X and Y v. The Netherlands''.
The corollary of the concept in the context of the European Court and Convention of Human Rights is that a government can be held responsible for failing to prevent, through judicial or law enforcement methods, the violation of a person's human rights by another person or private,
non-state actor
A non-state actor (NSA) are organizations and/or individuals that are not affiliated with, directed by, or funded by any government.
The interests, structure, and influence of NSAs vary widely. For example, among NSAs are non-profit organizations, ...
.
Drittwirkung is further subdivided into mittelbare and unmittelbare Drittwirkung. "The former means that the values and principles surrounding constitutional fundamental rights are to be considered by the courts when they are deciding private law cases. The latter means that the rights themselves can be directly applied against private bodies by the courts."
[{{cite book , title=Human Rights in the Private Sphere , publisher=Oxford , author=Andrew Clapham , year=1993]
This concept does not seem to exist in U.S. jurisprudence.
References
External links
Dr.Jur. Eric Engle on Third Party Effect (Drittwirkung)
Law of Germany
de:Grundrechte (Deutschland)#Drittwirkung von Grundrechten