Hate Crime in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights

Sa？etak Although neither the text of the European Convention on Human Rights nor the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) contain a definition of “hate crime”, it could be defined as violence motivated by racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, bias based on a person’s disability, gender identity or sexual orientation or another discriminatory ground. Given the nature of hate crimes and the fact that they not only affect the direct victim, but society as a whole, the ECtHR has developed a rich body of case law in cases concerning complaints of discriminatory violence where it has elaborated on the existence and scope of the positive obligations of the Contracting States in a wide range of circumstances, including the need to protect the victims of such violence. This paper seeks to demonstrate the scope of such positive obligations in the various contexts in which they have arisen, such as racial intolerance, violence against women, violence based on sexual orientation, and religious and political views