List of European Court of Human Rights judgments

Last updated

The following is a list of notable judgments by the European Court of Human Rights.

Contents

Climate

Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz v Switzerland

Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz v Switzerland (2024) was a landmark [1] European Court of Human Rights case in which the court ruled that Switzerland violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to adequately address climate change. It is the first climate change litigation in which an international court has ruled that state inaction violates human rights. [2]

Disability rights

Alajos Kiss v. Hungary

On 20 May 2010, the Court ruled in Alajos Kiss v. Hungary (38832/06) that Hungary cannot restrict voting rights only on the basis of guardianship due to a psychosocial disability. [3] [4] The Court awarded Mr. Kiss with EUR 3,000. [5]

Toplak and Mrak v. Slovenia

In the Toplak and Mrak v. Slovenia judgment, issued October 2021, the Court ruled that Slovenia had violated two wheelchair users' right to an effective legal remedy in a 2015 referendum on gay marriage. Slovenia's Supreme Court had ruled that voters had not had a right to request accessible polling places ahead of the vote, but only after the election would be over. Slovenia's Supreme Court stated that no court in Slovenia had jurisdiction over such cases. The ECHR found a violation of Article 13. [6] [7]

The Court also ruled that polling places in Europe need to be accessible for persons with disabilities but accepted that accessibility does not require that voters go through the building’s front entrance. It found no violation in Slovenia's abandonment of voting equipment which had enabled voters to vote by secret ballot. It found acceptable a scheme in which a voter who could not cast a ballot by himself had to disclose his vote to a family member who would fill out a ballot for him. [6] [8]

Freedom of speech

Appleby v. UK

This 2003 case involved balancing the right of freedom of speech against the rights of private property owners. The issue was whether shopping centers in new towns, by assuming the functions of traditional high streets, must also assume the responsibility of serving as a public forum. The Court considered but declined to follow the decision of the Supreme Court of California in the landmark case of Robins v. Pruneyard Shopping Center (affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins (1980)). [9]

E.S. v. Austria

In the 2018 case E.S. v. Austria the Court upheld the ruling of the Austrian courts that imposed a fine on a woman for calling Muhammad a pedophile. The Court maintained that Article 10 was not violated by the Austrian courts, because the plaintiff's "comments were not objective, failed to provide historical background and had no intention of promoting public debate." The ruling drew a lot of criticism for not upholding the freedom of speech (guaranteed under ECHR Article 10) and fears of promoting "anti-blasphemy laws" that endanger free thought. [10]

Military actions

Cases of Russian Military Abuses

Since the Russian military invaded Chechnya for the second time in 1999, the Court agreed to hear cases of human rights abuse brought forward by Chechen civilians against Russia in the course of the Second Chechen War, with 104 rulings to date as of April 2009 (including regarding the cases of torture and extrajudicial executions). [11] [12] In 2007, the Court ruled that Russia was responsible for the killings of a human rights activist, Zura Bitiyeva, and her family. [13] Bitiyeva herself had filed a complaint against Moscow with the Court in 2000 for abuse while in detention, in the then-second case from Chechnya, but she was murdered in 2003 before the ruling was issued. [14] Other cases ruled against Russia included the deaths (or presumed deaths after years of forced disappearance) of Ruslan Alikhadzhyev, Shakhid Baysayev, Nura Luluyeva and Khadzhi-Murat Yandiyev, the case of the indiscriminate bombing of Katyr-Yurt, and some of the deaths during the Novye Aldi massacre. As of 2008, the Court has been flooded by complaints from Chechnya, what the Human Rights Watch called "the last hope for the victims". [15]

A European court case that received an unprecedented level of attention in Russia and in the countries of the former Soviet Union was Kononov vs Latvia, in which the Grand Chamber ruled against Soviet WWII veteran, partisan fighter Vassili Kononov, accused of war crimes in now independent Latvia. The ruling was mentioned on numerous talk shows on television, led to sharp criticism and threats to pull out of the court [16] among some high-ranking Russian politicians, and caused the State Duma to adopt a condemning resolution. [17]

Treatment of individuals

Ireland v United Kingdom

In December 1977, in the case of Ireland v United Kingdom (5310/71), the Court ruled that the government of the United Kingdom was guilty of "inhuman and degrading treatment", of men interned without trial, following a case brought by Ireland (Case No. 5310/71). [18] The Court found that while their internment was an interference of the convention rights, it was justifiable in the circumstances; it however ruled that the practice of the five techniques and the practice of beating prisoners constituted inhumane and degrading punishment in violation of the convention, although not torture. [19] This is considered a "key decision" by the court. [20]

A. and others v. the United Kingdom

On 19 February 2009, in the case of A. and Others v. the United Kingdom, the Grand Chamber of the Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of right to liberty and security, a violation of right to have lawfulness of detention decided by a court, and violation of right to be compensated for such violations. The case concerned the applicants' complaints that they were detained in high security conditions under a statutory scheme that permitted the indefinite detention of non-nationals certified by the Secretary of State as suspected of involvement in terrorism. The applicants were 11 individuals, six of Algerian nationality; four, respectively, of French, Jordanian, Moroccan and Tunisian nationality; and, one, born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, and thus stateless. The Court made awards under Article 41 of the European Convention on Human Rights (just satisfaction) that were substantially lower than those it made in past cases of unlawful detention, in view of the fact that the detention scheme was devised in the face of a public emergency and as an attempt to reconcile the need to protect the United Kingdom public against terrorism with the obligation not to send the applicants back to countries where they faced a real risk of ill-treatment. The Court therefore awarded, to the six Algerian applicants EUR 3,400, EUR 3,900, EUR 3,800, EUR 3,400, EUR 2,500 and EUR 1,700, respectively; to the stateless and Tunisian applicants EUR 3,900, each; and to the Jordanian applicant, EUR 2,800. The applicants were jointly awarded EUR 60,000 for legal costs. [21]

Refugees

Loizidou v. Turkey

In Loizidou v. Turkey the property rights of Greek-Cypriot refugees displaced by an invading Turkish army were addressed. [22] In 2003 Turkey paid Ms. Loizidou compensation (of over $1 million) as ruled by the European Court of Human Rights. [23]

Batasuna and Herri Batasuna v Spain

In June 2009, the Court supported the illegalization of the Basque party Batasuna (formerly Herri Batasuna) on the basis that its activity was part of the strategy of the terrorist group ETA, stating that its illegalization by Spain could be justified as necessary in a democratic society in the pursuit of the legitimate aim of preventing terrorism. [24]

M.S.S. v Belgium and Greece

In the case M.S.S. v Belgium and Greece, the Court judged on 21 January 2011 that both the Greek and the Belgian governments violated the European Convention on Human Rights when applying the EU law (Dublin Regulation) on asylum seekers, and they were given fines to the tune of some €6,000 and €30,000, respectively. [25] [26]

Religion

Refah Partisi v Turkey

In upholding the Turkish Constitutional Court's dissolution of The Welfare Party (Refah Partisi) for violating Turkey's principle of secularism (by calling for the re-introduction of religious law) the court held "that sharia is incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy." [27] The Court justified the breach of the appellants' rights by reasoning that a legal regime based on sharia would diverge from the Convention's values, "particularly with regard to its criminal law and criminal procedure, its rules on the status of women and the way it intervenes in all spheres of private and public life in accordance with religious precepts." [28]

Decisions on religious symbols and clothing

In several cases, the Court has ruled in favour of restricting the display of symbols and clothing as religious signs. In the case of Leyla Şahin v. Turkey , where adult Turkish women were refused entrance into lectures and examination rooms if they chose to wear a headscarf, the Court ruled in favour of the ban, arguing that it was based on the principles of secularism and equality. In the 2001 case of Dahlab v. Switzerland, the court upheld the government's right to require a teacher, who had recently converted to Islam, to remove her headscarf given that it was a "powerful external symbol" that could "influence" young children. In November and December 2008, the European Court dealt with Dogru v. France, and Kevanci v. France, both cases of 12-year-old Muslim girls expelled in 1999 from their schools for covering their head during phys-ed class. The European Court found no violation of the right to religion saying the girls had made an "ostentatious" display. In Mann Singh v. France, where a Sikh who had held driving licenses for 20 years with his picture showing him wearing a turban now had to remove his turban to continue to do so, the European Court rejected the case without a hearing. In Lautsi v. Italy the Court ruled unanimously in 2009 that crucifixes in Italian public school classes are contrary to parents' right to educate their children in line with their convictions and to children's right to freedom of religion (art. 2 of the 1st Protocol, and art. 9 of the Convention). According to the Court ruling: "the presence of the crucifix—which it was impossible not to notice in the classrooms - could easily be interpreted by pupils of all ages as a religious sign and they would feel that they were being educated in a school environment bearing the stamp of a given religion." [29] [30] In 2011, this judgment was reversed by a majority in the Grand Chamber of the Court.

Vaccination

Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic

In the case of Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic , decided in April 2021, the court ruled that the nation of the Czech Republic did not violate the European Convention on Human Rights by imposing a vaccination mandate on children in that country. [31] [32] The legal challenge was initially filed by Czech citizen Pavel Vavřička, who had received a fine for refusing to vaccinate his children for tetanus, hepatitis B, and polio. The court found that the public health interest in achieving herd immunity from contagious diseases outweighed the individual right to privacy, and that the Czech law contained sufficient provisions for the exemption of those with medical or religious reasons for not receiving vaccination, neither of which were demonstrated by the objecting parent. [31] The case was the first in which the ECtHR had ruled on the question of compulsory vaccination. [31]

Interstate cases

Unanimous Chamber judgments reversed by the Grand Chamber

Judgments where the only judge finding a violation was from the state accused

Other cases

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Convention on Human Rights</span> International treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe

The European Convention on Human Rights is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are party to the convention and new members are expected to ratify the convention at the earliest opportunity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Court of Human Rights</span> Supranational court established by the Council of Europe

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the human rights enumerated in the convention or its optional protocols to which a member state is a party. The court is based in Strasbourg, France.

Loizidou v. Turkey is a landmark legal case regarding the rights of refugees wishing to return to their former homes and properties.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides a right to respect for one's "private and family life, his home and his correspondence", subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe.

Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibits torture, and "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

Article 3 – Prohibition of torture

No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Baysayeva v. Russia was an April 5, 2007, European Court of Human Rights ruling in the case of forced disappearance of a Chechen man Shakhid Baysayev, which unanimously held Russia responsible for serious violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision was the latest in a series of judgements against Russia in cases connected to the war in Chechnya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latvian Human Rights Committee</span>

Latvian Human Rights Committee is a non-governmental human rights organization in Latvia. It is a member of international human rights and anti-racism NGOs FIDH, AEDH. Co-chairpersons of LHRC are Vladimir Buzayev and Natalia Yolkina. According to the authors of the study "Ethnopolitics in Latvia", former CBSS Commissioner on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Ole Espersen "had visited LHRC various times and had used mostly the data of that organisation in his views on Latvia".

<i>Lautsi v. Italy</i>

Lautsi v. Italy was a case brought before the European Court of Human Rights, which, on 18 March 2011, ruled that the requirement in Italian law that crucifixes be displayed in classrooms of schools does not violate the European Convention on Human Rights.

Perinçek v. Switzerland is a 2013 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights concerning public statements by Doğu Perinçek, a Turkish nationalist political activist and member of the Talat Pasha Committee, who was convicted by a Swiss court for publicly denying the Armenian genocide. He was sentenced to 90 days in prison and fined 3000 Swiss francs.

Zakharov v. Russia was a 2015 court case before the European Court of Human Rights involving Roman Zakharov and the Russian Federation. The Court ruled that Russia's legal provisions governing communications surveillance did not provide adequate safeguards against arbitrariness or abuse, and that therefore a violation took place of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

<i>Chiragov and Others v. Armenia</i> International human rights case

Chiragov v. Armenia was an international human rights case regarding the rights to property of Azeri nationals in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of former Soviet Azerbaijan. The judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on the case originated in an application against the Republic of Armenia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by six Azerbaijani nationals on 6 April 2005. The applicants alleged, in particular, that they were prevented from returning to the district of Lachin in territory occupied by the respondent Government, that they were thus unable to enjoy their property and homes located there, and that they had not received any compensation for their losses.

Osmanoğlu and Kocabaş v. Switzerland was a case heard by the European Court of Human Rights in a chamber judgement concerning whether mandatory mixed-gender swimming for girls against the will of their Muslim parents who objected on religious grounds violated Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights by contravening religious freedom. On 10 January 2017 the court unanimously found that the convention had not been violated.

Assanidze v. Georgia is a decision of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the illegal incarceration of a Georgia national by the Ajarian authorities in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2004 the Court found in favour of Assanidze, recognising breaches to his right to liberty and right to a fair hearing under European Convention on Human Rights. As a result, the Court ordered that Assanidze be released "at the earliest possible date" and awarded €150,000 in damages. It was the first case against Georgia ruled upon by the European Court of Human Rights.

Slovenian Disability Rights Association is a disability rights organization in Slovenia. Its goals are to enhance the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to assist persons with disabilities through awareness raising and impact litigation. Drupis was founded in 2012.

Fedotova and Others v. Russia was a case submitted by six Russian nationals to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Bayev and Others v. Russia was a case brought to the European Court of Human Rights by three Russian activists—Nikolay Bayev, Aleksei Aleksandrovich Kiselev, and Nikolay Alekseyev—alleging that the Russian gay propaganda law infringed on their freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On 20 June 2017, the court ruled that the applicants' freedom of expression had been compromised. The only dissent was from Dmitry Dedov, the judge elected with respect to Russia.

Toplak and Mrak v. Slovenia of 26 October 2021, is the European Court of Human Rights judgment in which the court held that voters' rights were violated when they had no legal right to ask for accessible polling places in advance to achieve accessibility before the election day. The ruling is also significant because the court for the first time extended its jurisdiction to referendums.

<i>Sargsyan v. Azerbaijan</i>

Sargsyan v. Azerbaijan was an international human rights case regarding the rights of Armenian refugees displaced from former Soviet Azerbaijan because of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on the case originated in an application against the Republic of Azerbaijan lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by Minas Sargsyan on 11 August 2006. He was forced to flee his home in the village of Gulistan in Shahumyan region of former Soviet Azerbaijan, together with his family, because of the Azerbaijani bombardments of the village and was not allowed to return and unable to get any compensation from the Azerbaijani authorities. Even though the applicant died in 2009, as did his widow, Lena Sargsyan, in 2014, his children, Vladimir and Tsovinar Sargsyan, represented him in court to continue the proceedings.

References

  1. ↑ Kwai, Isabella; Bubola, Emma (9 April 2024). "In Landmark Climate Ruling, European Court Faults Switzerland". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  2. ↑ Francis, Ellen; Harlan, Chico (9 April 2024). "European court rules Switzerland climate inaction violated human rights". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Election Access". electionaccess.org. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "A Strasbourg victory for the mentally disabled". Strasbourg Observers. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights". hudoc.echr.coe.int.
  6. 1 2 "HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights". hudoc.echr.coe.int.
  7. ↑ "ECHR ruling 'has Europe-wide implications' on disability". www.lawsociety.ie. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "ECtHR: Disabled voters can be required to use back entrance at polling places". Scottish Legal News. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  9. ↑ Appleby and Others v. the United Kingdom [2003] ECHR 222 , (2003) 37 EHRR 38(6 May 2003)
  10. ↑ Andrea Gatti, "Freedom of Expression and Protection of Religious Peace in Europe: Considerations on E.S. v. Austria ECHR case law", Revista General de Derecho Publico Comparado, 2018.
  11. ↑ "European Court announced the 100th judgment in case from Chechnya memo.ru". Archived from the original on 30 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  12. ↑ K. Koroteyev Chechnya's Strasbourg "anniversary"
  13. ↑ "Russia Ruled Responsible For Killings Of Four Chechens" 21 June 2007, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, June 21, 2007
  14. ↑ Russia Convicted in Chechnya Killings [ permanent dead link ], IslamOnline, Jun. 22, 2007
  15. ↑ Chechnya: European Court Last Hope for Victims; France, EU, Should Use Rulings to End Abuses, Human Rights Watch, June 9, 2008
  16. ↑ Дума приняла заявление в Евросуд, № 90 (4390) от 22.05.2010
  17. ↑ Statement of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in connection with the adoption of a ruling on the V.M. Kononov case by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights Archived 2012-09-21 at the Wayback Machine Statement adopted by a resolution of the State Duma № 3694-5 DG on 21 May 2010, UN Portal
  18. ↑ Lauterpacht, Elihu; C. J. Greenwood (1980). International Law Reports. Cambridge UP. p. 198. ISBN   978-0-521-46403-1.
  19. ↑ Search ECHR data base Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine "In the case of Ireland v. the United Kingdom" (No. 5310/71)
  20. ↑ The United Kingdom confronts the European Convention on Human Rights by Donald Wilson Jackson 1997 ISBN   0-8130-1487-5 page 31
  21. ↑ A. and Others v. the United Kingdom
  22. ↑ "Turkey declines to pay damages to Greek Cypriot woman". BBC News . 28 October 1998. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  23. ↑ "Turkey compensates Cyprus refugee". BBC News . 2 December 2003. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  24. ↑ "EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS COUR EUROPÉENNE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2012.
  25. ↑ "Human rights court deals blow to EU asylum system". EUobserver. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  26. ↑ ECHR Press Release on the case
  27. ↑ Refah Partisi (The Welfare Party) and Others v Turkey
  28. ↑ Refah (The Welfare Party) and Others v. Turkey [41340/98 41342/98 41343/98 41344/98] 13 February 2003, pp. 39–49
  29. ↑ "Finnish-born woman wins ECHR verdict over State of Italy in crucifix dispute". Archived from the original on 21 October 2012.
  30. ↑ "Italy vows to fight for classroom crucifixes". CNN. 4 November 2009.
  31. 1 2 3 Chappell, Bill (8 April 2021). "European Court Backs Mandatory Vaccinations For Children". NPR.
  32. ↑ Utrilla, Dolores (8 April 2021). "Op-Ed: "It's about proportionality! Strasbourg clarifies human rights standards for compulsory vaccination programmes"". EU Law Live.
  33. ↑ "Information on interstate applications at ECtHR website" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  34. ↑ "Page 404 - ECHR - ECHR / CEDH". ECHR.
  35. ↑ "HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights". hudoc.echr.coe.int. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  36. ↑ "HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights". hudoc.echr.coe.int. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  37. ↑ Perna v. Italy (48898/99), Grand Chamber judgment of 6 May 2003
  38. ↑ Zavoloka v. Latvia (58447/00), Chamber judgment of 7 July 2009(in French)
  39. ↑ Ligeres v. Latvia (17/02), Chamber judgment of 28 June 2011
  40. ↑ Velkhiyev and Others v. Russia (34085/06), Chamber judgment of 5 July 2011
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