The fragility of human rights in times of rule of law erosion. The case of judicial independence in America and Europe

  • Susana Sanz Caballero Cardenal Herrera CEU University, Spain
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.3482
Keywords: rule of law, human rights, judicial independence, the USA and the EU

Abstract

The article highlights the existence of a direct and existential relationship between human rights and the rule of law, insofar as one cannot exist without the other, and vice versa. To this end, it first reviews the historical evolution of the protection of human rights and the rule of law in both the United States and the European Union, emphasizing the international legal norms and documents in which they have been enshrined. It then takes judicial independence as a case study. The article examines the human rights that become unprotected when states undermine judicial independence, focusing on pardons and amnesties, as well as on the harassment of judges and the non-compliance with judicial decisions, in both the United States and the European Union.

Received: 19 January 2026 
Accepted: 9 February 2026

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Author Biography

Susana Sanz Caballero, Cardenal Herrera CEU University, Spain

She holds a Law Degree (Specializing in Public Law) from the University of Valencia. She earned her PhD in Law in 1998 from Jaume I University. She holds a Master of Arts in Social Sciences from the Juan March Institute for Studies and Research (1991-1993) and a Diploma from the International Institute of Human Rights (1994). She is a Professor of Public International Law at Cardenal Herrera CEU University, where she has taught since 1993. She held the Jean Monnet Chair of the European Union in 2004 and 2017. She served as a Senior Advisor to the European Commission in its structured dialogues with Brazil on human rights (2015-2016). She was a Fulbright-Schuman Postdoctoral Fellow of the U.S. Department of State and the EU for the 2024/25 academic year. Since 2020, she is ad hoc judge of the European Court of Human Rights.

Published
2026-05-28
How to Cite
Sanz Caballero, Susana. 2026. “The Fragility of Human Rights in Times of Rule of Law Erosion. The Case of Judicial Independence in America and Europe”. Deusto Journal of European Studies, no. 74 (May), 29-58. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.3482.
Issue
No. 74 (2026): Human rights in the digital age: the European challenge
Section
Articles

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