Award Abstract # 1322161
International Courts, Advocacy Groups and Governance

NSF Org: SES
Division of Social and Economic Sciences
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Initial Amendment Date: August 13, 2013
Latest Amendment Date: August 3, 2016
Award Number: 1322161
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Mark Hurwitz
SES
 Division of Social and Economic Sciences
SBE
 Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Start Date: August 15, 2013
End Date: July 31, 2017 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $227,898.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $272,703.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2013 = $227,898.00
FY 2016 = $44,805.00
History of Investigator:
  • Rachel Cichowski (Principal Investigator)
    rcichows@u.washington.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Washington
4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE
SEATTLE
WA  US  98195-1016
(206)543-4043
Sponsor Congressional District: 07
Primary Place of Performance: University of Washington
WA  US  98195-3530
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
07
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): HD1WMN6945W6
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): LSS-Law And Social Sciences
Primary Program Source: 01001314DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 0000, OTHR
Program Element Code(s): 137200
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.075

ABSTRACT

In the last fifty years, international courts have incrementally grown in number and in power, changing the environment and institutions for engagement in international relations. These judicial organizations have both empowered and constrained governments to act in ways consistent with interpretations of supranational rights instruments. This project examines whether international courts provide an avenue for enhancing or undermining, societal access and participation in governance. This study analyzes litigation before a supranatiomal court to examine three key questions: (1) To what extent are interest and advocacy groups, from businesses to public interest activists, accessing international judicial institutions? (2) What are the main factors explaining changes in the degree and forms of this participation across time? (3) How and why does involvement in litigation affect governance? The project entails an innovative cross-field research design that draws unique theoretical and methodological links, adapting concepts concerning mobilization to the transnational and international level. The research also advances a more complex understanding of international law and politics, where societal groups, domestic governments and international organizations play an important role in giving meaning to the law and at times transforming laws and policies. The project will produce, analyze and disseminate the first database on interest and advocacy group involvement in international litigation, including both patterns of participation and effects on domestic and international laws.

The research benefits society as elite decision-makers within domestic and international institutions are increasingly challenged and pressured to make governance processes more accountable, transparent and accessible. The findings of this project will enable public officials, societal groups and scholars alike to systematically evaluate legal processes with the eye to reform and development of good governance. By making the data widely available, the project will contribute broadly to training students and scholars in governance through judicial institutions.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Rachel Cichowski "The European Court of Human Rights, Amicus Curiae and Violence against Women" Law & Society Review , v.50 , 2016

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

This project examined the dynamic interaction between law, politics and society as a starting point to think critically about the evolving role of international courts and organizations in human rights governance. It involved data collection and analysis of litigation before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) with the purpose of understanding advocacy and organization involvement in court cases and the subsequent effects on human rights development and protection.  Courts in the United States have a long history as a forum for individuals and organizations to push for policy reforms, this project explored the effects of a similar trend before international courts.  The ECtHR was established in 1959 and is one of the oldest and most active international courts with over 15,000 cases in its over fifty-year history.  The research project examined three key questions.   (1) To what extent are interest and advocacy groups, from businesses to public interest activists, accessing international judicial institutions?  (2) What are the main factors explaining changes in the degree and forms of this participation across time?  (3) How and why does this legal mobilization affect human rights governance, in particular the development and protection of rights? 

The project collected data, coded and examined case law before the ECtHR from 1960 to 2014 and stands as the first social science analysis identifying and examining the types, forms and effects of organization involvement in this human rights litigation.  The findings revealed a strong upward trend in organization involvement in ECtHR cases with the types of organizations skyrocketing over the years.  Trade unions and human rights organizations were joined by a total of 19 other organizational types by the end of the fifty year time period, including environmental groups, business organizations and religious groups to name a few.  The roles of these organizations are equally diverse with business organizations utilizing this human rights court to assert their right to property against the state.  Human rights organizations were more likely found serving as the legal representative in cases as well as utilizing a newly found access point by filing amicus briefs, similar to a widely recognized trend before the United States Supreme Court.

The data collection and analyses identify the importance of an expanding net of rules that enabled greater access to justice for these groups.  The ECtHR legal system was quite closed during the early years, but the findings reveal the ways in which the court operated to expand the rules governing third party access and how this was subsequently codified by the member states.  States also enhanced rules of access and the overall power and scope of the ECtHR’s jurisdiction through a major reform in the late 1990s with the effect of a widening body of cases and an equally expanding number of organizations involved in the litigation. The research also revealed that groups who repetitively brought and were involved in cases were those with both transnational and international links, but were well resourced both in funding and legal expertise.  The findings also identify the way in which organization involvement in the litigation has real and measurable impacts on the development and protection of human rights in Europe.  The legal research that is included in a human rights organizations’ amicus brief filed in a case, can play a role in the ECtHR’s legal reasoning for finding the state in violation.  Similarly, the briefs played a role in expanding the scope of human rights, providing the ECtHR with comparative legal data which was subsequently cited in the case law, and forms the basis for future cases.  The project also identified the domestic level legal changes that result from these ECtHR decisions including new legislation, judicial interpretations and administrative reforms.

The main broader impact of the project includes an innovative and publically accessible comprehensive database on the European Court of Human Rights judgments (ECHRdb).  The ECHRdb establishes new field standards in data sharing, management and usability protocols easing access to vital human rights data.   Researchers and educators can examine and analyze ECHR judgments on participation and decision level variables enabling innovative social science analysis and enhancing classroom curriculum.  Practitioners are able to quickly track trends in human rights violations by key variables such as defendant country, legal domain and decision outcome.  Advocacy Groups can quickly identify successful litigation strategies and mobilization patterns, facilitating a growing network, community and infrastructure for human rights protection. The ECHRdb is available both as a set of downloadable raw data files and includes an online analysis tool enabling broad access to the data.  The online analysis and data visualization enables users to filter the data, analyze frequencies, and compare variables.  The ECHRdb comes to life through a fully interactive design offering custom views to visualize the data, from basic charts and graphs to interactive galleries and timelines.

 

 

 


Last Modified: 12/14/2017
Modified by: Rachel Cichowski

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