Professor Başak Çalı’s scholarship cited in new European Parliament briefing on migration and the ECHR

A new briefing from the European Parliament analysing proposed reforms to the European Convention on Human Rights cites the work of Professor Başak Çalı, Professor of International Law at the University of Oxford and Head of Research at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights.

The report, ‘Migration and the European Convention on Human Rights: Legal Requirements and Proposals for Reform’, evaluates emerging political pressure to recalibrate the application of Articles 3 (prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment) and 8 (right to privacy and family life) of the ECHR in the context of increasing political pressure to adopt a stricter approach to migration. 

The briefing draws on Professor Çalı’s work on the “variable geometry” of the European Court of Human Rights’ jurisprudence, referencing her analysis of how the Court balances state interests and individual rights in times of crisis.

It also cites Professor Çalı’s research on the rights of long-term migrants under the ECHR from her edited book Migration and the European Convention on Human Rights (OUP, 2021) analysing how the European Court adopts a highly deferential approach to European states, resulting in a very narrow interpretation of family life for long-term migrants in Europe.

In addition, the briefing refers to the findings of the recent Bonavero Institute of Human Rights report on ‘The ECHR and immigration control in the UK: Informing the Public Debate’ authored by Victoria Adelmant, Professor Alice Donald and Professor Çalı. The report identifies and addresses misconceptions widely reported in the UK media concerning the application of the ECHR to immigration control in the UK.

The full EPRS briefing is publicly available on the European Parliament website.