When ‘friends of the court’ aren’t so friendly: The challenge of ‘bad amicus’ and the margin of appreciation

Asgeir Falch-Eriksen (2024)
The Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (DIPA)

Blogpost by: Asgeir Falch-Eriksen, Head of the academic unit on Globalisation and Social Sustainability – Oslo Metropolitan University and Associate Professor II at the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism

After World War II, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) were established to protect fundamental rights across Europe. A key feature of this system is the margin of appreciation (MoA) — allowing countries flexibility in applying human rights norms, balancing national sovereignty with universal rights.

However, this discretion also opens the door for bad amicus — organizations submitting court briefs to influence decisions in ways that undermine human rights. Groups like Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) exploit this space to push anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-reproductive rights agendas.

How the ECtHR interprets the MoA depends heavily on legal theory.

Read the full blogpost here.

https://discretion.w.uib.no/2024/12/17/when-friends-of-the-court-arent-so-friendly-the-challenge-of-bad-amicus-and-the-margin-of-appreciation/