Existing Anthropogenic Protection of Convention Rights as a Chilling Effect

Project title: Existing Anthropogenic Protection of Convention Rights as a Chilling Effect
Project acronym: ECHillR
Project number: uniri-iz-25-69
Project financing: European Union – NextGenerationEU
Project duration: 1 October 2025 – 30 September 2029
Total value of the project (EUR): 37.364,20
Legal disclaimer: This project is funded by European Union – NextGenerationEU via the Croatian National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026, in conjunction with the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law Programme Financing. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

Name and surname: izv. prof. dr. sc. Sanja Grbić
E-mail: sanja.grbic@pravri.uniri.hr

prof. dr. sc. Gabrijela Mihelčić, gabrijela.mihelcic@pravri.uniri.hr
prof. dr. sc. Loris Belanić, loris.belanic@pravri.uniri.hr
izv. prof., dr. sc. Dejan Bodul, dejan.bodul@pravri.uniri.hr
izv. prof. dr. sc. Maša Marochini Zrinski, Masa_Marochini_Zrinski@usud.hr
izv. prof. dr. sc. Ana Đanić Čeko, ana.djanic@pravos.hr
Klara Babić univ. mag. iur., kbabic@pravri.uniri.hr
Martina Tičić univ. mag. iur., mticic@pravri.uniri.hr
Luka Brajković univ. mag. iur., luka.brajkovic@pravri.uniri.hr

The term “chilling effect” within the ECHR refers to a situation in which certain state measures, although formally legal, have a discouraging effect on the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms. The European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter: ECtHR) has frequently identified and condemned measures that can lead to such an effect, emphasizing that they can severely undermine the fundamental rights guaranteed by the ECHR. As a result, the ECtHR often analyzes not only the direct consequences of certain measures but also their potential “chilling” effect on society. States are obligated to provide legal certainty and safeguards to prevent such negative impacts on human rights. Therefore, the focus of the Project will be the identification and analysis of critical points that contribute to a deterrent effect, with an emphasis on the importance of protecting rights under the ECHR. This will be done with the aim of ensuring the effective protection of the right to live in a healthy urban environment, particularly for people of mature age.

Project goals:

• To strengthen the effectiveness (efficiency) of the protection of the right to life in a healthy urban environment of people of mature age through scientifically and educationally oriented proactive engagement serving the public interest, which requires: 1. Identifying the “porous” points of the normative framework, the diverse modes of its interpretation in judicial practice, and gaining insight into the legal experiences of the so-called “ordinary person”; 2. Critically analysing the existing national legal framework, identifying its shortcomings in comparison with European solutions through the case law of the ECtHR and national courts; 3. Examining the research findings in relation to the desired effectiveness (efficiency) of the protection of the right to life in a healthy urban environment of people of mature age.

Expected results:

Through the project activities, the specialist knowledge of the project team members will be enhanced and made accessible to the teaching staff of the Faculty of Law in Rijeka, thereby positioning the Faculty as a strong institution competent to conduct future research on the protection of the right to life in a healthy urban environment and to participate in future project applications. Furthermore, education on the protection of the said right will be provided to:

• Mentors from practice / alumni lawyers, in order to create a sustainable mentoring network of stakeholders from the professional sphere who, together with the project team members, will be long-term equipped to transfer knowledge to new generations of students providing legal aid to people of mature age after the conclusion of the Project, thereby strengthening the Faculty’s role and its ties with the professional community and society at large;
• Representatives of associations / bodies of older persons, who will transfer the acquired knowledge to their members and recipients of legal aid, thus ensuring that, even after the conclusion of the Project, the strong cooperation between the Faculty and stakeholders within the system for the protection of users / people of mature age continues; and
• Student mentors (with the aim set out under point 1), who will further strengthen their skills and competences, enabling a higher-quality transfer of knowledge to students engaged in the provision of free legal aid.

Through these measures, the Project’s objectives will be achieved, the role of the Faculty within the community and its relations with stakeholders in the economy (the Bar Association and pensioners’ associations) will be reinforced, cooperation with other scientific institutions and bodies at the national and international level will be strengthened, and the sustainability of the Project results will be ensured after its completion.

Key words:

• Chilling Effect, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, European Court of Human Rights, people of mature age