A Typology of the Court’s Approach to Vulnerability under Article 3 ECHR

Abstract

Th is chapter systematically examines the Court ' s Article 3 case law for references to vulnerability. Based on case law groups, it creates a typology of types of vulnerability recognised by the Court. Th e fi rst category is dependency -based vulnerability, which concerns minors, the elderly, and those with psychosocial and cognitive disabilities. A related category, which accounts for the bulk of the Court ' s references to vulnerability under Article 3, concerns vulnerability due to state control. In addition, applicants may be considered vulnerable due to experiences of victimisation or a feeling of vulnerability, because of a context of migration, discrimination or marginalisation, or due to pregnancy or situations of precarious reproductive health, unpopular views, or the intersection of various sources of vulnerability. Th e chapter discusses the case law in relation to each of these categories in turn, provides a qualitative and quantitative overview of references, and discusses some underexplored sources of vulnerability that the Court could potentially consider in the future. It also provides the groundwork for an analysis of the eff ects and pitfalls of vulnerability reasoning under Article 3, as fl eshed out in the chapters that follow.