The Human Embryo in the Case-Law of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the status of a human embryo. At the beginning, the author makes an overview of the legal documents on the subject-matter produced by intergovernmental organisations on both universal and regional levels. The overview covers also a national legislation of Australia, China, Japan, United States and most of the European states. Further the paper elaborates on the decisions and judgments of the European Court adopted for the last fifty five years. The summary of this case-law is provided in a chronological order from the oldest to the newest one. Finally, the author comments on the practice of the European Court of Human Rights with regard to the issue of the human embryo legal position. The case-law in question certifies that human embryo cannot be considered "a thing", but at the same time it is still not "a person" for the purposes of the Article 2 of the Convention.