The role of the reasonableness concept in the pre-trial jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

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The concept of reasonableness is one that pervades the criminal law field, in particular in the form of the objective standard of the 'reasonable person'. It also plays a key and unexplored role at the pre-trial detention stage, both at thedomestic and the European Court of Human Rights levels. In light of the growing recognition of the human rights harms stemming from the overuse of pre-trial detention, the purpose of this project is to explore the origins and theory ofthe term 'reasonableness', and track its subsequent and developing use by domestic courts across the Council of Europe and by the European Court of Human Rights in pretrial detention claims. The project will, importantly, include field research in two Council of Europe States, as well as semi-structured interviews with European Court of Human Rights judges, to test the preliminary findings of the documentary research and identify any issues in the practical use of the concept. Ultimately, the thesis will analyse the implications of the use of the reasonableness concept in criminal justice systems, and explore the manner and consistency of its application in the Court's related jurisprudence.Schedule of workPart 1Chapter 1: theory of the meaning of the term 'reasonableness'.Chapter 2: origins of the term 'reasonableness' and its subsequent and developing use in pre-trial detention claims by the European Court of Human Rights.- Expected completion: by term 3.Part 2Part 2 will be divided into three sections, to review how the Court employs the notion of reasonableness in three key aspects of Article 5:i. Chapter 3: reasonable suspicion (Article 5 1(c));ii. Chapter 4: trial within a reasonable time (Article 5 3);andiii. Chapter 5: reasonableness of pre-trial detention (Article 5 3).First, I will review the doctrine from its inception through its historical development in the Court's jurisprudence, through a legal perspective based on analysis of the case-law, as well as using sociological approaches. Second, once I haveestablished the general framework that the Court employs in each of the three contexts, I will test it against examples in its case-law to determine whether or not the notion is being applied in a coherent and consistent manner. The extent to, and manner in, which the Court defers to Contracting States in its assessment of reasonableness will be considered throughout.- Expected completion: by term 3.Part 3Chapter 6: use of the 'reasonableness' doctrine by the 47 Council of Europe States at the pre-trial stage.- Expected completion: by term 4.Parts 4 and 5 will analyse the results of field research conducted in two Council of Europe States; ideally, this would involve one post-Soviet system with a codified criminal law system and a contrasting, preferably common law, state. My French, Russian and Spanish language skills will assist in fieldwork and research tasks throughout the project.Part 4Chapter 7: analysis of field research in two Council of Europe States.- Expected completion: by year 2/3.Part 5Chapter 8: analysis of semi-structured interviews with European Court of Human Rights judges.- Expected completion: by year 2/3.