Diana Kovatcheva
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 7, 2020, No. 1
The right to diplomatic protection:
Individual human rights vs state’s political interest at international level
Diana Kovatcheva
Abstract. The article aims to describe the legal nature of the diplomatic protection of individuals whose rights are violated by a foreign state. It reveals some of the typical features of the diplomatic protection through the constant practice of international courts such as the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The author seeks to identify some new tendencies in the traditional assumption that the right to diplomatic protection belongs to the state. It refers to the recent practice of international courts, to the development of the international human rights law and the new status of the individual in the international law. It explores the chances for individual right of diplomatic protection in the contemporary international law, the limits in the discretion of the state and the right to compensation.
The article tackles the issue about the positive obligation to diplomatic protection according to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) based on examples from its jurisprudence.
Keywords: diplomatic protection, European Court of Human Rights, International Court of Justice, individual, human rightsPapers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 5, 2018, No. 1
Human rights protection in the European Union:
Is the European ombudsman lagging behind?
Diana Kovatcheva
Abstract. The vague legal framework and the lack of legal definition of maladministration give the European Ombudsman an opportunity to choose when to intervene. According to the statistics only 0.00000425% of the total population of the European Union approached the European Ombudsman in 2017. This means that either the European citizens are not very clear about the concept of maladministration or that they need support which goes largely beyond the current limited mandate of the European Ombudsman. The greater part of human rights regulated by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union still remains out of the mandate of the European Ombudsman. In addition, the Paris Principles for the Work of Human Rights Institutions of the United Nations emphasize the need to bring the powers of the ombudsman institutions in compliance with the contemporary developments of human rights protection standards. In view of this the European Ombudsman is still lagging behind.
Keywords: European Ombudsman, human rights, maladministration, good administration, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union