TY - JOUR
T1 - Recalibrating Human Rights in Europe
T2 - A Call to Awaken the Principle of Non-Retrogression
AU - Uitz, Renáta
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Renáta Uitz, 2026. Published with license by Koninklijke Brill BV. This work is published by Koninklijke Brill BV. Koninklijke Brill BV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Schöningh, Brill Fink, Brill mentis, Brill Wageningen Academic, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Böhlau and V&R unipress. Koninklijke Brill BV reserves the right to protect the publication against unauthorized use and to authorize dissemination by means of offprints, legitimate photocopies, microform editions, reprints, translations, and secondary information sources, such as abstracting and indexing services including databases. Requests for commercial re-use, use of parts of the publication, and/or translations must be addressed to Koninklijke Brill BV.
PY - 2026/6
Y1 - 2026/6
N2 - The article studies the role of the European Court of Human Rights in the face of populist and illiberal challenges. Using a practice approach to study populist and illiberal norm entrepreneurship, the analysis reveals that contestation about the concept of democracy is central to the judicial recalibration of human rights. It assesses the application of the principle of subsidiarity against this background, demonstrating how the presumption of good faith fosters the recalibration of human rights in populist and illiberal terms. In response, it calls for awakening the principle of non-retrogression as a building block of the European human rights acquis. It argues that member states’ initial commitment to maintaining and furthering Convention rights comprises an obligation to refrain from adopting retrogressive (regressive) measures that roll back human rights safeguards and standards.
AB - The article studies the role of the European Court of Human Rights in the face of populist and illiberal challenges. Using a practice approach to study populist and illiberal norm entrepreneurship, the analysis reveals that contestation about the concept of democracy is central to the judicial recalibration of human rights. It assesses the application of the principle of subsidiarity against this background, demonstrating how the presumption of good faith fosters the recalibration of human rights in populist and illiberal terms. In response, it calls for awakening the principle of non-retrogression as a building block of the European human rights acquis. It argues that member states’ initial commitment to maintaining and furthering Convention rights comprises an obligation to refrain from adopting retrogressive (regressive) measures that roll back human rights safeguards and standards.
KW - concept of shared responsibility principle of non-retrogression
KW - democratic backsliding
KW - illiberal practices
KW - norm entrepreneurs
KW - presumption of good faith
KW - principle of subsidiarity
KW - recalibration of human rights
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105036197544
U2 - 10.1163/26663236-bja10153
DO - 10.1163/26663236-bja10153
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105036197544
SN - 2666-3228
VL - 7
SP - 95
EP - 126
JO - European Convention on Human Rights Law Review
JF - European Convention on Human Rights Law Review
IS - 1-2
ER -