Court Delay and Human Rights Remedies : Enforcing the Right to a Fair Hearing 'Within a Reasonable Time'

This book brings legal and academic perspective to the theory and practice surrounding the right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time. This field of rights has been somewhat neglected academically, a fact which jars with the sheer volume of case law budding from this single, simple, fundamental right, bearing testimony to the widespread concern with delay in judicial proceedings which transcends the boundaries of states or legal systems.

The work provides a blueprint for analysing the effectiveness of legal remedies across entire legal systems, as well as in any given individual case. The first part focuses on deriving legal principles from the body of jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, while the second part contains illustrations of the practical application of such principles.

The content constitutes essential reading for students, academics, lawyers, judges, practitioners and all those who wish to understand the issue of delay in judicial proceedings, and the legal context of available remedies. The author aims to raise awareness about the human rights issues which come into play when delivery of justice is delayed, and to provide both an academic and practical reference.

Dr Caroline Savvidis, LL.D., Dip. Not. Pub., LL.B. advocates the use of human rights and protection of the individual as a basis for governance and the creation of policy. She has served as executive director, non-executive board member and in a fiduciary capacity on European regulated financial services firms and other undertakings and is the managing partner of BN&P Advocates, a law firm advising on efficiency in administration and regulation and the resolution of cross-border family office matters; the practice maintains an active pro bono department for human rights-related advice. Dr Savvidis graduated with a first-class Doctor of Laws dissertation treating the effectiveness, in practice, of remedies for unreasonable delay as a formidable obstacle to accessing justice which plagues all 47 states of the Council of Europe. Over the years she has conducted extensive research on the themes of human rights protection, peacekeeping and the architecture of legal systems. She is a guest lecturer and speaker at international conferences, universities and other fora where she is invited to present her latest research and proposals.