Enforced Disappearance and the European Court of Human Rights’ ratione temporis Jurisdiction

Abstract

The article examines the Grand Chamber judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Janowiec and Others v. Russia, which constitutes a case of enforced disappearance. The judgment is placed in the context of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and, regarding jurisdiction ratione temporis, of other international bodies. A critique of the Grand Chamber’s argumentation under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to life) finds that the Court’s restrictive approach to its temporal jurisdiction, in adherence to the principles first set out in the Šilih v. Slovenia judgment, was neither legally necessary nor practically advisable in Janowiec and Others. These arguments are followed by an excursus on the Court’s approach to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment).