''Strasbourg Observers'' is an academic

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

published in English, which focuses on recent developments relating to 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 a ...

(ECtHR). The blog was established by

Eva Brems Eva Brems (born 1969) is a Belgian university professor, human rights defender and politician. She is a senior lecturer in human rights and non-Western law at Ghent University. Besides her academic engagements, Brems has also been politically act ...

together with her Ph.D. researchers from

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, in April 2010. Since 2021, the blog is maintained by researchers based at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University and at the Centre for Government and Law of

Hasselt University Hasselt University (Dutch: ''Universiteit Hasselt or UHasselt'') is a public research university with campuses in Hasselt and Diepenbeek, Belgium. It has more than 6,700 students and 1,660 academic, administrative and technical staff (2022). The ...

. Posts published in the blog have been cited several times in the separate opinions of the Court.

Reception

Human rights scholar

Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou is a scholar of human rights law who has worked for the University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to th ...

commented that while ''Strasbourg Observers'' is "one of the leading blogs dedicated to the ECtHR", many of the posts have "missed opportunity" in the title, which indicates how various stakeholders "are not satisfied with the level of the Court’s engagement with various socio-legal issues." He then criticised the frequent use of this phrase in the blog. In his words, "The ECtHR needs to balance these different approaches and offer, not ideal, but appropriate solutions. So, what in one person’s eyes can be a ‘missed opportunity’, someone else might not see as an opportunity at all. Those academics who speak of ‘missed opportunities’ would wish the ECtHR to do ‘more’ to protect human rights and do it ‘better’ – whatever these terms may mean to each one of us. The Court is looking for ways to enhance its ability strategically to impact human rights standards in Europe."

References

External links

* English-language websites 2010 establishments in Belgium Human rights journals Internet properties established in 2010 European Convention on Human Rights European Court of Human Rights {{italictitle