The interpretation of article 6 ECHR and access to justice for public employees

This article investigates the exclusion of public employees from the scope of the right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It discusses the different interpretative techniques used by the European Court of Human Rights to a ttempt to modify that exclusion. It appears that on the one hand, the Court is drawn towards accepting the ‘moral truth’ that access to justice should pertain to all groups in relation to their (private) rights. On the other hand, ‘democratic’ considerations of subsidiarity and consensus have constrained the full promotion of this truth and hence the full development of human rights protection in this field .