Category Archives: Papers

Nikiforos Panagis: Putting Balancing in the Balance

Posted on March 20, 2014 by stavrostsakyrakis

  The importance of the principle of proportionality in assessing the lawfulness of a measure that interferes with individual rights is reflected in the fierce debates it has generated. The present essay will focus on the main issues that are … Continue reading →

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Disproportionate Individualism

Posted on December 28, 2013 by stavrostsakyrakis

  A tale of two societies  Since at least the publication of Alexis de Tocqueville’s famous work Democracy in America, common wisdom has it that the USA is par excellence an individualistic society.[1] The judiciary has had more than a … Continue reading →

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Notes on liberal sociability

Posted on March 12, 2013 by stavrostsakyrakis

Is it possible to arrive at a concept of society (let alone a fair society) having a Hobbesian individualism as starting point? That is, starting with the notion that society is an aggregate of individuals who by nature have “a … Continue reading →

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Neutrality in the classroom

Posted on February 22, 2013 by stavrostsakyrakis

      Dimitrios Kyritsis, Lecturer in Law at the University of Sheffield Stavros Tsakyrakis, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Athens     In Lautsi v. Italy the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights … Continue reading →

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Disproportionate Individualism

Posted on November 12, 2012 by stavrostsakyrakis

When talking about human rights, many theorists in Europe and elsewhere prefer the term individual rights. I always considered this terminology unfortunate but contemporary human rights theory and practice, notably adjudication, makes it seem more apt. Indeed, the underlying philosophy … Continue reading →

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Total Freedom: the Morality of Proportionality

Posted on November 12, 2012 by stavrostsakyrakis

Stavros Tsakyrakis [1] Introduction Are the doctrines we employ in human rights adjudication true to the importance of human rights norms? This question is pressed upon us by the growing popularity, in recent years, of the proportionality test in many … Continue reading →

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Is there a general right of non-disclosure?

Posted on November 12, 2012 by stavrostsakyrakis

By Stavros Tsakyrakis[1] Introduction What information about ourselves do we owe each other? What information about ourselves are we justified to withhold from others? Do I have the right to keep my name secret or my face covered? What about … Continue reading →

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I•CON Debate! Proportionality: An assault on human rights?: A rejoinder to Madhav Khosla

Posted on November 13, 2010 by stavrostsakyrakis

Stavros Tsakyrakis[*] In his interesting and thoughtful defence of proportionality, Madhav Khosla concedes that “certain types of balancing [are] objectionable”. He cites with approval the Israeli Supreme Court decision in Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, which affirmed a blanket … Continue reading →

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Proportionality: An assault on human rights?

Posted on November 13, 2009 by stavrostsakyrakis

Stavros Tsakyrakis[1] Balancing is the main method used by a number of constitutional courts around the world to resolve conflicts of fundamentals rights. The European Court of Human Rights routinely balances human rights against each other and against conflicting public … Continue reading →

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