La sentencia A, B y C contra Irlanda y la cuestión del aborto: ¿Un “punto de inflexión” en la jurisprudencia de la Corte Europea de Derechos Humanos en materia de consenso y margen de apreciación nacional?

Abstract

This article analyzes the case of A, B and C v. Ireland in which the plaintiffs claimed that the Irish laws on abortion are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The article deals specifically with the parts of the ruling handed down by the European Court of Human Rights that cover the role of European consensus in the establishment of the margin of appreciation that is given to states in the restriction of rights recognized by the Convention. The article argues that this ruling is a “new departure” in the case-law of the Strasbourg Court and points out some of the negative consequences that this entails, from a perspective that is critical of the Court’s reasoning.