Conference with Mr Mattias Guyomar, French judge at the European Court of Human Rights

This conference was introduced by First President Chantal Arens who underlined the importance of the dialogue with the ECHR for the Cour de cassation (Court of cassation). It gave the opportunity to Mr Mattias Guyomar to present the background and current developments in the ECHR case law to judges of the Cour de cassation (Court of cassation).

Mr Mattias Guyomar presented the French cases brought before the ECHR, the control and supervision methods applied by the ECHR, as well as specific case law issues including the freedom of expression as the foundation of a democratic society, the right to private and family life and surrogate motherhood.  

Committed to the dialogue between national judges and the ECHR, Mr Mattias Guyomar discussed the articulation between national and European case law. He also highlighted the importance of the principle of shared responsibility, national judges being the first responsible for the implementation of the Convention, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in Protocol No. 15 of the Convention, which recently came into force.

In conclusion, it was decided that further exchanges could be organized with the Court’s chambers, following the meeting held with the criminal chamber on the same day. This dialogue would foster a deeper discussion on the issues judges of the Court’s chambers may have.