This book provides a comparative assessment of the procedural law governing facts and evidence with references to over 900 judgments and decisions of the European and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as well as the UN Human Rights Committee. It identifies underlying principles which govern the procedural law of these international human rights institutions. Based on the premise of a contextualized procedural law governing facts and evidence, the book analyzes where current approaches lack a foundation in the contextualization premise and offers solutions for recurring procedural problems relating to questions of subsidiarity in fact-finding, burden and standard of proof, as well as the admissibility and evaluation of evidence.
Dr. Torsten Stirner is an attorney at a leading law firm in Germany. He was a Researcher at the Institute of International and European Law at the University of Göttingen. His publications include an edited book, VerhältnismäÃigkeit im Völkerrecht (2016), as well as contributions in Law Journals.
Acknowledgments Abbreviations
1âIntroduction
â1.1âCriticism Addressing the Lack of a Principled Approach
â1.2âLegitimacy of the Procedural Outcomes: To Elicit a Pull towards Compliance
â1.3âDeveloping a Standard: How to Review and Develop Procedural Law Governing Facts and Evidence
â1.4âStructure of This Volume
â1.5âSources of the Law of Facts and Evidence in International Human Rights Proceedings
2âDefinitions and Procedural Concepts
â2.1âStandard of Proof, Evaluation of Evidence and Admission of Evidence
â2.2âThe Burden of Proof â The Persuasive Burden
â2.3âAdversary and Investigatory Proceedings in Theory
â2.4âThe Evidentiary Burden, the Burden to Come Forward with Evidence and the Tactical Burden
â2.5âA Shift in the Burden of Proof vs. Facilitation of Proof Such as Factual Presumptions/Prima-Facie Evidence
â2.6âFact-Finding by an International Human Rights Institution
3âParameters of the Procedural Frameworks of International Human Rights Institutions Framing the Law Relating to Facts and Evidence
â3.1âEuropean Court of Human Rights
â3.2âInter-American Court of Human Rights
â3.3âUN Human Rights Committee
â3.4âImplications for the Following Analysis of the Evidentiary Process
4âSubsidiarity and the Evidentiary Procedure
â4.1âDeference: The Interrelation between Subsidiarity and the Facts Established in the Domestic Proceedings
â4.2âSubsidiarity: Limits to the ECtHRâs Fact-Finding and Evaluation of Evidence
â4.3âSubsidiarity and Deference in the Two-Entity-System of the Inter-American System
â4.4âSubsidiarity: Limits to the Committee`s Fact-Finding and Evaluation of Evidence
â4.5âSummary and Problems in Need of Addressing
5âStandard of Proof in International Human Rights Proceedings
â5.1âIntroduction to the Concept of a Contextualized Standard of Proof
â5.2âStandard of Proof in the Proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights
â5.3âStandard of Proof in the Proceedings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
â5.4âStandard of Proof in the Proceedings of the UN Human Rights Committee
â5.5âSummary and Problems in Need of Addressing
6âAllocation of the Persuasive Burden in International Human Rights Proceedings
â6.1âApproaches regarding the Allocation of the Persuasive Burden
â6.2âAllocation of the Persuasive Burden in the Procedure before the European Court of Human Rights
â6.3âAllocation of the Persuasive Burden in the Procedure before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
â6.4âAllocation of the Persuasive Burden in the Procedure before the Human Rights Committee
â6.5âSummary and Problems in Need of Addressing
7âThe Introduction of Facts and Evidence in the Proceedings of International Human Rights Institutions
â7.1âInvestigatory or Adversarial Proceedings â The Theoretical Foundation and Procedural Reality
â7.2âThe Introduction of Facts and Evidence in the Procedure of the ECtHR
â7.3âThe Introduction of Facts and Evidence in the Procedure before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
â7.4âThe Introduction of Facts and Evidence in the Procedure before the U.N. Human Rights Committee
â7.5âSummary and Problems in Need of Addressing
8âThe Lack of Cooperation by the Respondent State
â8.1âNon-Cooperation with Respect to the Establishment of the Facts and Why There Must Not Be Default Findings
â8.2âConsequences of Non-Cooperation by the Respondent State â European Court of Human Rights
â8.3âConsequences of Non-Cooperation â Inter-American Court of Human Rights
â8.4âConsequences of Non-Cooperation â Human Rights Committee
â8.5âSummary and Problems in Need of Addressing
9âThe Admission of Evidence in Proceedings before Human Rights Institutions
â9.1âIntroduction
â9.2âAdmission of Evidence before the European Court of Human Rights
â9.3âAdmission of Evidence before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
â9.4âAdmission of Evidence before the U.N. Human Rights Committee
â9.5âSummary and Problems in Need of Addressing
10âThe Evaluation of Evidence by the Human Rights Institutions
â10.1âIntroduction to the Systems of Assessing Evidence
â10.2âThe Evaluation of Evidence by European Court of Human Rights
â10.3âThe Evaluation of Evidence by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
â10.4âThe Evaluation of Evidence by the UN Human Rights Committee
â10.5âSummary and Problems in Need of Addressing
11âRationalizing and Advancing the Law Governing Facts and Evidence on the Basis of a Sui-Generis, Contextualized Approach
â11.1âSubsidiarity and the Law Governing Facts and Evidence
â11.2âProposal for a Contextualized Standard of Proof
â11.3âThe Persuasive Burden and Its Link to the Substantive Law
â11.4âFact-Finding and Facts and Evidence Presented by the Parties, Factual Presumptions and Tactical Burden
â11.5âConsequences of Non-Cooperation
â11.6âAdmission and Evaluation of Evidence
Bibliography Index
All interested in the procedural law governing facts and evidence in international human rights proceedings (students, scholars, and practitioners), particularly regarding subsidiarity in fact-finding, and burden and standard of proof.