The Convention on the Rights of the Child’s Imprint on Judgments from the European Court of Human Rights: A Negligible Footprint?

Abstract

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is the sole interpreter of all matters on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and has no obligations toward any other international law and/or jurisprudence. In the realm of children’s rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is renowned as the most prominent source for all development of children’s rights. Officially, there is no connection between the ECHR/ECtHR and the CRC. Nevertheless, the ECtHR has acknowledged a reciprocal, harmonious relationship between the two conventions. By analysing all judgments from the ECtHR referring to the CRC, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative document analyses, this article aims to examine the CRC’s footing in the ECtHR. Leaning on concepts of legal mobilisation, lawfare, and availability heuristics, we argue that there has been a clear development in how the CRC is used in and by the ECtHR, indicating that the CRC has an increasingly stronger footing within the Court, especially in the past decade. Additionally, we argue that this development has strengthened children’s rights and that the CRC, at least indirectly, has had and still has a vital role in developing children’s rights within the ECtHR.