Post by Ellen Desmet

How strict is the migration case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and what is its impact on forced removals in Belgium? In December 2025, 27 Council of Europe states adopted a statement expressing their concerns about the migration case law of the ECtHR. They believe that the Court imposes too many restrictions on European governments.   In this report, we answer the question of how strict the Court's case law really is for European states. Our analysis shows that (1)  The Court has been state-friendly from the outset. (2)  Moreover, over the last decade, case law has imposed fewer restrictions on states. (3)  The basic standards of the ECHR are also enshrined in other, binding instruments. (4)  Finally, the impact of this case law at national level is limited in the case of Belgium.   Written with Eva Sevrin and Thomas Spijkerboer of the Migration Law Research Group at Faculty of Law and Criminology Ghent University Co-signed by Marie-Laure Basilien-Gainche, Eva Brems, Jean-Yves Carlier, Philippe DE BRUYCKER, Tesseltje de Lange, Marie-Benedicte Dembour, Paula García Andrade, Cristina gortazar rotaeche, Valeria Ilareva, Meltem Ineli Ciger, Jasper Krommendijk, Luc Leboeuf, Nora Markard, Boldizsar Nagy, Gregor Noll, Elina Pirjatanniemi, Julie Ringelheim, Sylvie Sarolea, Jessica Schultz, Serge SLAMA, Stijn Smet, Stefaan Smis, Ashley Terlouw, Rebecca Thorburn Stern, Nicos Trimikliniotis, Wouter Vandenhole, Jens Vedsted-Hansen, Catherine Warin, Stéphanie Wattier and Patrick Wautelet https://lnkd.in/eY5_zPUV