The European Court of Human Rights and associated Convention has long been considered one of the crown jewels of European integration. A common court and code for more than 800 million Europeans, the Court was in the post-Cold War period key to the democratization of Europe. Recent years have however seen a growing critique of the Court, both in new and old member states. Split into two parts, this presentation outlines first the how the Court became the de facto supreme court of human rights in Europe and, secondly, how it has come under repeated attack countries as different as the United Kingdom and Russia. It finishes with the most recent transformations, notably the Copenhagen Declaration adopted earlier this year.

Mikael Rask Madsen is a professor of European Law and Integration at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, and the founder and director of iCourts, the Danish National Research Foundation's Centre of Excellence for International Courts. His research interests include the globalization of law and the legal profession and its effects on new forms of institutions such as international courts.

This event is co-hosted with "Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe: The International Rule of Law - Rise or Decline?"