Helen Keller

Helen Keller

Prof. Dr. iur. Helen Keller holds the Chair for Public Law at the University of Zurich and is a former member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee. She served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

How Swiss law is adopting European fundamental rights

Helen Keller 08.06.2023 The Swiss Federal Constitution is caught in a push-and-pull between direct democracy, on the one hand, and European and international law, on the other. Certain European fundamental rights standards are being adopted nonetheless. The Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights have had a marked effect on the current version of the Constitution. Decisions in Strasbourg continue to develop and enhance human rights standards that apply not just in the EU, but in Switzerland, too.
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, photographed by Christian Beutler, 2018.