The European Convention on Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights

The question of the extent and limits of the applicability of the European Convention on Human Rights to the behaviour of private parties is controversial. Generally described by the notion of ‘horizontal effect’ or the German term Drittwirkung,1 the Convention’s application to the private sphere, of relations amongst individuals themselves, has been undoubtedly extended by the European Court of Human Rights. However, it has not as yet been fully conceptualised.2