Situational Perspective on Vulnerability in European Human Rights Law

This article discusses the possibility of a conceptual reframing of vulnerability as used in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It argues that a strictly situational approach offers epistemic clarity, allows for systematic and transparent examination of cases and facilitates the determination of appropriate remedies. The argument is based on the premise that vulnerability is a layered, relational concept that emerges from situatedness, is shaped by contextual circumstances, and is responsive to transformation. Through close analysis of ECtHR case law, the article identifies patterns of conceptual confusion and proposes an alternative framework grounded in three dimensions: situatedness, circumstance, and response. Particular attention is paid to the concept of precarity, developed especially by Judith Butler, as a socially produced vulnerability. The article concludes by advocating for a vulnerability-sensitive model of human rights adjudication that is responsive to structural injustice and capable of enabling transformative remedies

Economic Justice · Essentialism · Human rights · Situational ethics · Discrimination and Equality Law · Feminism, Gender, and Intersectionality · Judicial and Constitutional Studies