| Title |
Defending democracy or subverting rights? The role of ‘militant democracy’ in Baltic States cases before the ECtHR |
| Authors |
Murauskas, Donatas |
| DOI |
10.1163/9789004751026_012 |
| ISBN |
9789004747715 |
| eISBN |
9789004751026 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
European yearbook on human rights 2025 / edited by Philip Czech, Lisa Heschl, Karin Lukas, Manfred Nowak, Gerd Oberleitner and Hannes Tretter.. Leiden : Brill | Nijhoff, 2026. p. 279-306.. ISBN 9789004747715. eISBN 9789004751026 |
| Keywords [eng] |
human rights ; Baltic states ; law |
| Abstract [eng] |
In this paper, I examine the evolving jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on ‘militant democracy,’ with a particular focus on recent cases from Latvia and Lithuania. I explore how the Court navigates the tension between protecting democratic order and upholding fundamental rights, particularly in response to contemporary security threats such as hybrid warfare. The study argues that the ECtHR has moved beyond a rigid application of Article 17 of the Convention, instead embracing a more context-sensitive approach rooted in subsidiarity and national constitutional identity. By analysing cases such as Savickis and Others v Latvia, Ždanoka v Latvia (No. 2) and Kirkorov v Lithuania, I highlight the Court’s evolving stance on external threats manifesting through more individualised analysis of the domestic specificity. |
| Published |
Leiden : Brill | Nijhoff, 2026 |
| Type |
Book part |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2026 |
| CC license |
|
