Protecting Vulnerable Groups: The European Human Rights Framework(Modern Studies in European Law)

The concept of vulnerability has not been unequivocally interpreted either in regional or in universal international legal instruments. This book analyses the work of the EU and the Council of Europe in ascertaining a clear framework or a set of criteria suitable to determine those who should be considered vulnerable and disadvantaged. It also explores the measures required to protect their human rights. Key questions can be answered by analysing the different methods used to determine the levels of protection offered by the two European systems. These questions include whether the Convention and the case law of the Strasbourg Court, the monitoring mechanisms of the Council of Europe, EU law and the case law of the European Court of Justice enhance the protection of vulnerable groups and expand the protection of their rights, or, alternatively, whether they are mainly used to fill in relatively minor gaps or occasional lapses in national rights guarantees. The analysis also shows the extent to which these two European systems provide analogous, or indeed divergent, standards and how any such divergence might be problematic in light of the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction Francesca Ippolito and Sara Iglesias Sánchez I. INHERENT VULNERABILITY 2. (De)Constructing Children’s Vulnerability under European Law Francesca Ippolito 3. Reshaping EU Old Age Law in the Light of the Normative Standards in International Human Rights Law in Relation to Older Persons Francesco Seatzu 4. Disability as a Form of Vulnerability under EU and CoE law: Embracing the ‘Social Model’? Anja Wiesbrock 5. European Protection for Women Francette Fines II. MINORITIES 6. European Law and Regional or Minority Languages: Cultural Diversity and the Fight against Linguistic Vulnerability Olivier Dubos and Victor Guset 7. The Many Vulnerabilities of the Roma and the European Legal Framework Tawhida Ahmed 8. Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural Identity under EU Law and the ECHR: A Non-trade Interest or a Human Right? Julinda Beqiraj 9. The Protection of Religious Minorities in Europe: Strengths and Weaknesses Erica Howard 10. The Protection of Sexual Minorities in European Law Peggy Ducoulombier III. NON-NATIONALS 11. The Unexpected Precariat Caroline Sawyer 12. General and Specific Vulnerability of Protection-Seekers in the EU: Is there an Adequate Response to their Needs? Ulrike Brandl and Philip Czech 13. Dealing with International Vulnerability: European Law and Climate-Induced Migrants Catherine-Amélie Chassin 14. The Protection of Vulnerable People and the Free Movement of Persons within the European Union: Two Worlds Apart? Alessandra Lang IV. VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL ACTS 15. The Place of the Victim in Europe’s Area of Criminal Justice Valsamis Mitsilegas 16. Responding to the Plight of Victims of Terrorism: European Approaches and Dilemmas Jessica Almqvist 17. Victims of Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants in International and European Law Jacobo Ríos Rodríguez V. CIRCUMSTANTIAL VULNERABILITY 18. The Effective Supervision of European Prison Conditions Steve Foster 19. The Ultimate Social (or is it Economic?) Vulnerability: Poverty in European Law Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer 20. Irregular Migrants in Europe: Deprivation of Status as a Type of State-Imposed Vulnerability Sara Iglesias Sánchez

About the Author :
Francesca Ippolito is Senior Lecturer in European Union Law at the University of Cagliari. Sara Iglesias Sánchez is Référendaire at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Review :
The editors of the book succeed in putting together a substantial collection of diverse, comprehensive and valuable contributions, whose trait d’union is represented by the concept of vulnerability, its scope and consequences from a legal standpoint...this book is valuable to those who aim to understand how the European framework grapples with the most disadvantaged groups of individuals.