Derogation

A treaty’s temporary suspension or modification of specified obligations during a qualifying emergency, subject to conditions such as necessity, proportionality, and formal notification.

European Convention on Human Rights: A Council of Europe treaty that protects civil and political rights and establishes the European Court of Human Rights. Article 15 provides a prominent treaty framework for emergency derogations.
Limitation clause: A treaty provision allowing specified restrictions on a right under ordinary conditions and for stated purposes. Unlike derogation, it governs restrictions without requiring a qualifying emergency.
Lawless v. Ireland: A 1961 European Court of Human Rights case concerning detention without trial during an emergency in Ireland. The Court assessed Ireland’s emergency and its Article 15 derogation.
European Commission of Human Rights: A former Council of Europe body that examined individual complaints and state cases under the European Convention on Human Rights. Before the Court’s reorganization, it assessed whether Convention derogations met their conditions.
Public emergency threatening the life of the nation: A grave and imminent crisis that threatens the organized life of a population and may qualify for treaty derogation. Whether a crisis reaches this threshold is often the first disputed issue.
Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights: The European Convention provision allowing limited departures from certain obligations during war or another public emergency threatening the life of the nation. It specifies the conditions and limits governing derogations under the Convention.
Treaty reservation: A unilateral statement by which a state seeks to exclude or modify the legal effect of treaty provisions for itself. A reservation concerns a state’s treaty commitment, not a temporary emergency departure.
Ireland v. the United Kingdom: A 1978 European Court of Human Rights case concerning interrogation methods and security measures in Northern Ireland. The case examined emergency measures taken under the United Kingdom’s derogation.
European Court of Human Rights: An international court that rules on alleged violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. Its judgments have shaped the interpretation of Article 15.
Emergency powers: Exceptional legal authority granted to public institutions to respond to serious crises. Derogation is one international-law constraint on the exercise of these powers.

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