Part III Structural Principles, Ch.19 Proportionality

Subject(s):

Proportionality — Proportionality and immediacy — General principles of international law — Development, right to — Right to non-discrimination — Advisory opinions — Development — Transparency — Non-discrimination — Legitimate expectations — Equal treatment

This article examines the principle of proportionality in the context of international human rights law. It traces the origin of this principle in the eighteenth century Prussian administrative law and explains that three tests of proportionality. It considers the proportionality analysis by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Inter-American System and discusses the application of the principle of proportionality by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). This article argues that this principle serves as an analytical and structural method for assessing national decisions and fosters trust in the international judicial and quasi-judicial bodies� supervisory roles.