Juridification through rights: how the European Court of Human Rights shapes higher education

Juridification; judicialization; international organizations; international courts; European Court of Human Rights; human rights law; higher education

Abstract :

[en] Juridification has been widely examined in national contexts across various societal sectors, yet its expansion and institutionalization in international settings, particularly within international organizations, remain underexplored. This paper contributes to the juridification through rights literature by analyzing a non-exhaustive set of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law on higher education (n = 25). We introduce the 4-E framework – expansion, entanglement, elaboration, and effects – to examine the judicialization of higher education under European human rights case law. Using a mixed-methods approach combining case law, social network, and policy analyses, we demonstrate how: (a) expansion manifests through the increasing role of human rights claims in higher education; (b) entanglement highlights the interconnectedness of multiple rights, shaping judicial interpretations; (c) elaboration occurs as legal precedents refine and consolidate legal standards over time; and (d) effects capture the impact of ECtHR rulings on legal norm diffusion, agenda setting, and institutional and national policies. Our findings underscore the role of the ECtHR in regulating higher education through human rights law, contributing to both juridification studies and the broader legal and policy discourse on European higher education governance. This study also suggests future research directions on the evolving intersection of law, education, and supranational judicial oversight.

Disciplines :

European & international law

Author, co-author :

MARQUES, Marcelo ; University of Luxembourg

Moradel-Vásquez, Juan José ; University of Luxembourg

External co-authors :

Language :

English

Title :

Juridification through rights: how the European Court of Human Rights shapes higher education

Publication date :

17 June 2025

Journal title :

Journal of Education Policy

ISSN :

0268-0939

eISSN :

1464-5106

Publisher :

Informa UK Limited

Pages :

1-23

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Focus Area :

Law / European Law

Additional URL :

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02680939.2025.2517700

Available on ORBilu :

since 19 June 2025

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