Bulgaria hosts conference on European Human Rights Convention

The Institute for the State and the Law at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (ISL–BAS) is organizing an international conference to mark the 75th anniversary of the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the Institute said on Thursday.

The forum will take place on November 13 in BAS’s Grand Hall and will bring together distinguished scholars, legal experts, lecturers and PhD students from Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and Spain. The programme includes five thematic panels, with more than 33 reports expected to be presented on the development and application of the Convention in contemporary law, CE Report quotes BTA.

Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, Prof. Diana Kovacheva, will open the conference with a keynote lecture entitled “75 Years of the European Convention on Human Rights – Triumph of Legal Humanism.” Among the participants will be Michael Whine, an independent British member of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance at the Council of Europe, who will speak about the protection of Jewish rights under the ECHR.

During the first panel, Prof. Nadezhda Yonkova from ISL–BAS will present a report on the development of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention, while Assoc. Prof. Tony Dimov and Assoc. Prof. Manol Stanin, will analyze the relevance of the Convention in the context of modern legal challenges.

The second panel will focus on current issues in the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, including the risk of ill-treatment in cases of deportation and extradition, the right to property and freedom of association. Participants will include Prof. Darina Zinovieva, Assoc. Prof. Paunita Petrova, Dr. Petya Naydenova-Andreeva, Assoc. Prof. Atanas Vladikov, as well as young researchers from ISL–BAS, Plovdiv University and South-West University.

The third panel will feature Prof. Yolanda Gamarra Chopo from the University of Zaragoza will present her analysis of the ECHR in the context of the rule of law and European constitutionalism. The topic of technology and human rights will be presented by Assist. Prof. Georgi Bakyov, who will demonstrate HUDERIA – a tool for assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on human rights.

The fourth panel will address issues related to the right to private and family life, as well as the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Speakers will include Assoc. Prof. Eva Kaseva, Assoc. Prof. Mihail Malchev, Assoc. Prof. Gergana Gozanska, and Assist. Prof. Desislava Yurukova.

The final panel will focus on the right of access to justice and the principle of judicial independence. Participants will include Assoc. Prof. Petar Bonchovski, Assist. Prof. Ralitsa Voynova, and PhD students from ISL–BAS and St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.

Prof. Irena Ilieva said ahead of the forum that nowadays, more than ever, the protection of human rights is not a given but a continuous commitment, adding that the European Convention remains a moral and legal compass for the nations of the continent.