The Application of the Margin of Appreciation Doctrine in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

Jurists have expressed various propositions about the true nature of Margin of Appreciation Doctrine. Some believe that although application of the doctrine allows for exercise of human rights with having local cultural diversities in consideration، following up with cited doctrine in practice by European Court of Human Rights has not been amounted yet to relativism. This paper however، suggests that the doctrine sits on shaky relativism but rather strong universalism. It further argues that the study of rational behind the application of the doctrine in European Court of Human Rights practice، the Court’s decisions wherein similar reference has been made and the study of available academic literature on this topic show that Margin of Appreciation Doctrine emanates from cultural relativism. On the other hand، quantitative and qualitative study of the diversities are accepted by the doctrine – in terms of scope، field of reference and application standards – leads to the conclusion that the Margin of Appreciation may be regarded as ‘Weak Cultural Relativism.