ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews a group of almost 80 criminalization cases of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in order to identify the acts considered and the criminalization outcome. The chapter finds that, within European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) case law, the ECtHR most usually holds that an impugned act can be a criminal offence. In respect of some acts related to causing death, harm, or injurious sexual acts, the ECtHR confirms that certain acts should be criminal offences. The Court holds that an act should not be a criminal offence in a small number cases, mostly involving acts against public order or public safety. Comparison of criminalization outcomes from the ECtHR with findings of United Nations human rights treaty bodies shows reasonable alignment, albeit with some differences that arise from the different procedural and structural frameworks of the two human rights systems.