Political Science
Seeking better judgment: LGBT discrimination cases in Russia and at the European Court of Human Rights
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Drawing upon data from field interviews, court records, and media and NGO reports, this article examines Russian cases claiming LGBT discrimination in domestic courts and at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The ECtHR has provided a less homophobic venue than Russia’s domestic courts for such claims, but its judgments have had little effect in Russia. We argue that the Russian case illustrates a paradox in the domestic politics of international human rights litigation. Activists from domestic contexts where discrimination is most prevalent are most likely to make successful claims in international human rights courts, while in those same contexts, informal discriminatory norms are likely to be strongest, resulting in those international court decisions having the least impact on the ground.
Publication Title
International Journal of Human Rights
Publication Date
7-2-2020
Volume
24
Issue
6
First Page
750
Last Page
772
ISSN
1364-2987
DOI
10.1080/13642987.2019.1671826
Keywords
European Court of Human Rights, human rights, LGBT, Russia, strategic litigation
Repository Citation
Sundstrom, Lisa Mc Intosh and Sperling, Valerie, "Seeking better judgment: LGBT discrimination cases in Russia and at the European Court of Human Rights" (2020). Political Science. 88.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_political_science/88
