When the European Convention on Human Rights became enforceable by United Kingdom courts in 2000, Mary Arden, already a judge, foresaw that this change would be a milestone in the United Kingdom’s law.
She used her judicial leave to immerse herself in the work of the European Court of Human Rights and to become familiar with the Council of Europe. She wanted British judges to learn too. Therefore, she contributed to judicial training sessions and set about organising meetings between high-level groups of United Kingdom judges and European Court of Human Rights judges. These have become the norm among Convention states. Each side benefitted from an exchange of views. Mutual trust grew so that the Court took greater account of the role of national judiciaries and the doctrines of shared responsibility and subsidiarity. Subsidiarity was the bedrock, which brought governments together to assist the European Court of Human Rights in reforming its processes when overwhelmed by its caseload. This ensured the Court’s renaissance in the twenty-first century.
The project “75 women in 75 years of Council of Europe history” is organised by the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe with the Council of Europe and the Permanent Representations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
