| Article | Judicial Interpretation of Criminal Legal Provisions in the Light of Standards of the European Court of Human Rights |
|---|---|
| Authors | Khyliuk S. |
| Name of magazine | Legal journal «Law of Ukraine» (Ukrainian version) |
| Issue | 6 / 2015 |
| Pages | 185 - 193 |
| Annotation | The approach of the European Court of Human Rights to the problems of judicial interpretation of criminal legal issues in case-law on application of Article 7 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is analyzed. Given the study, the following conclusions may be made. The judicial law-making in criminal legal sphere, extensive interpretation of criminal legal provisions do not infringe human rights provided by the Convention, if the effect thereof is foreseeable, complies with the essence of crime and the letter of law. Courts have no authority to construe new corpus delicti, alter a «set of characteristics» of corpus delicti, introduce new types of punishment. However, courts can only clarify the existing legal provisions. The European Court of Human Rights admits that a definite criminal legal provision may have several interpretations, as well as that national courts may alter approaches to understanding essence of certain criminal legal provisions with a view to stability of their text form in changing circumstances. According to the author, ensuring the rule of law requires that changing judicial lawmaking and interpretation be considered unacceptable in case the courts extend the scope of criminal-legal provisions on accused detriment. |
| Keywords | judicial law-making, extensive interpretation, the European Court of Human Rights case-law. |
| References | |
| Electronic version | Download |