Attribution of Responsibility to International Organizations in Light of the Bosphorus Case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is seen as the most important human rights judicial body not only in Europe but also around the world. However, with its decisions in such cases as Bahrami and Saramati, the ECHR has reduced its popularity and authority as a defender of human rights. Nonetheless, by applying the criterion of "effective control" instead of "ultimate control" for assigning responsibility to international organizations in the Bosporus case, the court seems to have recovered its credibility. This is so despite some well-founded criticism of the Court's decision in this case. This is the topic that the present article seeks to explain by analyzing the ECHR' judgement in the Bosporus Airways v. Ireland case.