Strasbourg Observers is an academic blog published in English, which focuses on recent developments relating to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The blog was established by Eva Brems together with her Ph.D. researchers from Ghent University, Belgium, in April 2010. Since 2021, the blog has been maintained by researchers based at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University and at the Centre for Government and Law of Hasselt University. [1] Posts published in the blog have been cited several times in the separate opinions of the Court. [2] [3]
Human rights scholar Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou commented that while Strasbourg Observers is "one of the leading blogs dedicated to the ECtHR", many of the posts have "missed opportunity" in the title, which indicates how various stakeholders "are not satisfied with the level of the Court’s engagement with various socio-legal issues." He then criticised the frequent use of this phrase in the blog. In his words, "The ECtHR needs to balance these different approaches and offer, not ideal, but appropriate solutions. So, what in one person’s eyes can be a ‘missed opportunity’, someone else might not see as an opportunity at all. Those academics who speak of ‘missed opportunities’ would wish the ECtHR to do ‘more’ to protect human rights and do it ‘better’ – whatever these terms may mean to each one of us. The Court is looking for ways to enhance its ability strategically to impact human rights standards in Europe." [4]
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.
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.
Positive obligations in human rights law denote a State's obligation to engage in an activity to secure the effective enjoyment of a fundamental right, as opposed to the classical negative obligation to merely abstain from human rights violations.
The Belgian Negationism law, passed on 23 March 1995, bans public denial of nazi genocide war crimes like the Holocaust. Specifically, this law against negationism makes it illegal to publicly "deny, play down, justify or approve of the genocide committed by the German National Socialist regime during the Second World War". Prosecution is led by the Belgian Centre for Equal Opportunities. The offense is punishable by imprisonment of up to one year and fines of up to 2,500 EUR.
Dudgeon v United Kingdom (1981) was a European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case, which held that Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, which criminalised male homosexual acts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, breached the defendant's rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Erased is the name used in the media for a group of people in Slovenia that remained without a legal status after the declaration of the country's independence in 1991.
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides the right to freedom of expression and information. A fundamental aspect of this right is the freedom to hold opinions and receive and impart information and ideas, even if the receiver of such information does not share the same opinions or views as the provider.
Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights is a provision of the European Convention which protects the right to a fair trial. In criminal law cases and cases to determine civil rights it protects the right to a public hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal within reasonable time, the presumption of innocence, right to silence and other minimum rights for those charged in a criminal case.
Tănase v. Moldova was a 2010 European Court of Human Rights case which determined that the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibited Moldova from making dual cititzenship holders ineligible to sit in the national parliament.
R v Horncastle & Others[2009] UKSC 14 was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom regarding hearsay evidence and the compatibility of UK hearsay law with the right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case represents another stage in the judicial dialogue between the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the higher courts of the United Kingdom about whether it is acceptable to base convictions "solely or to a decisive extent" on evidence made by a witness who is identified but does not appear in court.
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) consists of 17 judges of the ECtHR and is convened in exceptional cases. Its verdicts cannot be appealed.
Róbert Ragnar Spanó is an Icelandic-Italian jurist, judge, and former president of the European Court of Human Rights. He has been a partner at the multinational law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher since the end of this tenure as president of the court in October 2022. He started his tenure as president of the court on 18 May 2020, succeeding Judge Sicilianos from Greece. Before beginning his service on the court on 1 November 2013, he served provisionally as parliamentary ombudsman of Iceland and dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Iceland. Spano's mandate as a judge and president of the court ended on 31 October 2022 when he was succeeded by Judge Siofra O'Leary.
The Judiciary of Northern Cyprus is the system of courts which interprets and applies the law in Northern Cyprus. Judicial independence is safeguarded by the Constitution of the country.
Russia was a member of the Council of Europe, an international organization that focuses on the promotion of democracy and human rights, from 1996 to 2022. At the time of its accession, Russia did not meet the requirements of membership, but it was believed that joining would help Russia improve its record on democracy and human rights protection. In a 2019 paper published in the International & Comparative Law Quarterly, international law scholars Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou and Donal K Coffey described Russia as showing "persistent and clear disregard of the values and aims of the CoE", including occupying other member states, sponsoring separatist movements, and ignoring judgements of the European Court of Human Rights. During its membership, Russia was suspended from voting rights on multiple occasions. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on 16 March the Committee of Ministers voted to expel Russia from the council with immediate effect.
Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic, applications 47621/13, 3867/14, 73094/14, 19306/15, 19298/15, and 43883/15, is a 2021 case decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), holding 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.
Fedotova and Others v. Russia was a case submitted by six Russian nationals to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Azerbaijan has been a member of the Council of Europe, an international organization that focuses on strengthening democracy and human rights, since 2001. As a member, it has attracted attention for holding political prisoners, low implementation of verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and bribing Council of Europe parliamentarians to suppress negative information about its human rights record. In 2017, the Committee of Ministers launched the first ever infringement proceeding against Azerbaijan after it refused to release opposition politician Ilgar Mammadov after a 2014 ECtHR verdict that his imprisonment was unlawful. There has also been criticism of Azerbaijan's continued membership by those who believe its lack of human rights protection undermines the credibility of the Council of Europe.
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.
Baka v. Hungary was a case of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) heard by the second section of the court in 2014 and the Grand Chamber in 2016. Both the section and the Grand Chamber found that Hungary had violated the rights of András Baka, the former head of Hungary's supreme court who was dismissed after criticizing the government's judicial reforms.