Expertise, Public Health and the European Convention on Human Rights: Vavřička v Czech Republic

Abstract

In Vavřička v Czech Republic, the European Court of Human Rights held that the Czech Republic's childhood vaccination policy did not contravene the Article 8 right to private life. This note presents a rhetorical and contextual analysis of the Court's engagement with questions of expertise. The majority's application of a wide margin of appreciation avoided grappling with the details of scientific and medical authority, as much as the political challenges raised by the application. We conclude by considering the wider context and limits of rights-based approaches to global public health.