The Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Queen’s University Belfast, is delighted to host a book launch on the "Detention and the Right to Liberty: Addressing Gaps in Protection at the European Court of Human Rights" by Dr Sabina Garahan, University of Essex on 8 October 2025.

Detention and the Right to Liberty is a ground-breaking study of how the European Court of Human Rights interprets Article 5 of the ECHR – the right to liberty and security. Despite being a fundamental provision under the ECHR, the book finds that the Court has neglected to evolve Article 5 standards, and as a result weakened the right’s effectiveness in guarding against arbitrary detention. The book therefore develops an original framework for the progressive interpretation of Article 5, identifying and addressing gaps in the protection of vulnerable groups of detainees. These include individuals held pre-trial, as children, in immigration detention, following protest, or as a result of their political dissent or human rights activism.

Dr Garahan will present the key elements of this framework, by reference to original interview data from European Court of Human Rights judges, and outline its capacity to strengthen Article 5 protections to the benefit of detainees across Europe.