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The Convention and the Kingdom

The Convention and the Kingdom

The Convention and the Kingdom

How the Netherlands Received the European Convention on Human Rights
Series:
Author:
Wiebe Hommes, Universiteit van Amsterdam
Published:
September 2025
Availability:
Not yet published - available from September 2025
Format:
Hardback
ISBN:
9781009676816

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$150.00
USD
Hardback

    How and why did the European Convention turn from a neglected legal tool into one of the most important human rights documents in legal practice? This book argues this remarkable development wasn't merely the result of a top-down movement initiated by the European Court, but of a far more dynamic process in which the national and European spheres engaged in constant co-creation. Focusing on the Netherlands and uncovering little known archival sources, it lays bare how the Convention was received over time throughout the entire Kingdom. In doing so, it incorporates insight into how European human rights were perceived in Europe and beyond. A much more varied story comes to light in which contingency and interaction take centre stage, and which uncovers the choices that continue to shape the character of the Convention as we know it today.

    • Uncovers a wealth of new archival material
    • Includes the colonial context in the narrative of European human rights
    • Places recent debates on human rights in a much longer historical timeframe

    Product details

    September 2025
    Hardback
    9781009676816
    380 pages
    244 × 170 mm
    Not yet published - available from September 2025

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction
    • 1. 1945–1954 Constructing the moral basis for European integration
    • 2. 1954–1962 The open beginning of the Convention
    • 3. 1962–1968 From European rights to human rights
    • 4:
    • 1968–1979 European human rights in the age of activism
    • 5. 1979–1989 The defining decade: How the Convention became 'mainstream'
    • 6. 1989–2022 From permissive consensus to persistent critique.
      Author
    • Wiebe Hommes , Universiteit van Amsterdam

      Wiebe Hommes is Assistant Professor in European Law and Legal History at the University of Amsterdam. His research revolves around the history of human rights and European integration, as well as the role of individuals in the creation of (international) law.