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European Court of Human Rights
Grand Chamber considers whether testimony of absent witness violates fair trial right Al-Khawaja and Tahery v United Kingdom – 26766/05 [2011] ECHR 2127 (15 December 2011) Summary The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights recently considered the admissibility of statements made by an absent witness and the application of the ‘sole or [...]
Investigating potential breaches of the right to life: ‘Unified’ investigation processes not necessary Pearson v United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 2319 (13 December 2011) Summary The European Court of Human Rights has clarified the scope of a State party’s obligation to investigate a death in circumstances involving a potential breach of the right to life. In [...]
Preventive detention of G8 protesters a violation of the right to liberty and peaceful assembly Schwabe and M.G. v Germany – 8080/08 [2011] ECHR 1986 (1 December 2011) Summary The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the detention of two German citizens, who planned to be involved in protests against the 2007 G8 [...]
Sterilisation of woman amounted to breach of respect for private life and prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment V.C. v Slovakia [2011] ECHR 1888 (8 November 2011) Summary In this case, the European Court of Human Rights held that the sterilisation of a woman, in circumstances where “consent” to the procedure was obtained during the [...]
States have margin of appreciation to regulate access to reproductive health care S.H. & Others v Austria [2011] ECHR 1879 (3 November 2011) Summary The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has found that Austrian legislation which prevents couples from conceiving a child with in vitro fertilization using donated ova or sperm [...]
Systemic overcrowding in prisons may amount to inhuman and degrading treatment Mandic and Jovic v Slovenia [2011] ECHR Application Nos. 5774/10 and 5985/10 (20 October 2011) Summary In this case, the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that inadequate physical conditions of detention in prison, in particular insufficient personal space for prisoners resulting from systemic [...]
United Kingdom justified in differentiating between social housing applicants based on conditional immigration status Bah v United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 1448 (27 September 2011) Summary The European Court of Human Rights has held that a person’s immigration status is a relevant ground of discrimination under Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights. However, [...]
European Court of Human Rights rules on the right to freedom of expression in the context of employment Palomo Sanchez v Spain [2011] ECHR 1319 (12 September 2011) Summary In this case, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights considered whether the dismissal of employees for publishing offensive material in a trade [...]
State breached positive obligations to safeguard and protect the right to respect for private life by failing to prevent dog attack Georgel and Georgeta Stoicescu v Romania [2011] ECHR 1193 (26 July 2011) Summary In an important judgment on the scope of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of [...]
Detention for mental health purposes must be subject to strict safeguards and review LM v Latvia [2011] ECHR (Application No 26000/02, 19 July 2011) Summary In LM v Latvia, the European Court of Human Rights affirmed the importance of ensuring that domestic law provides adequate legal protections to persons with mental illness who are involuntarily [...]
Human rights obligations can travel: The extraterritoriality of human rights and the Iraq War Al-Jedda v United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 1092 (7 July 2011) Al-Skeini & Ors v United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 1093 (7 July 2011) Summary The European Court of Human Rights (the Court) recently decided two applications brought against the United Kingdom under Article [...]
Human rights obligations can travel: The extraterritoriality of human rights and the Iraq War Al-Jedda v United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 1092 (7 July 2011) Al-Skeini & Ors v United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 1093 (7 July 2011) Summary The European Court of Human Rights (the Court) recently decided two applications brought against the United Kingdom under Article [...]
Deportation to situations of generalised violence may breach human rights Sufi and Elmi v The United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 1045 (28 June 2011) Summary The European Court of Human Rights (the Court) has found that the return of two Somali nationals to Mogadishu, Somalia would amount to inhuman and degrading treatment in breach of article [...]
State bears onus to explain injuries in custody Gubacsi v Hungary [2011] ECHR 1044 (28 June 2011) Summary In this case, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) confirmed that ill-treatment of persons in custody by police, if sufficiently serious, may amount to inhuman and degrading treatment in breach of article 3 of the [...]
European Court holds that failure to provide access to reproductive healthcare may violate prohibition against torture and ill-treatment R.R. v Poland [2011] ECHR 828 (26 May 2011) Summary In this case the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered judgment in favour of an applicant, Ms R.R., who brought a case against Poland for a [...]
Formula One boss’s privacy breached, but limited rights to seek an injunction Mosley v the United Kingdom (48009/08) (10 May 2011) Summary The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against former Formula One boss Max Mosley in the latest round of the well-publicised litigation he initiated in 2008 after the UK newspaper News of [...]
tate has a Positive Obligation to Protect Life and Ensure Effective and Independent Investigation of Police-Related Deaths Giuliani and Gaggio v Italy [2011] ECHR 513 (24 March 2011) Summary The Grand Chamber of the European Court found no violation of the European Convention of Human Rights arose out of the killing of a demonstrator by [...]
European Court of Human Rights Rules that Crucifixes in State Schools do not Violate Religious Freedom Lautsi & Ors v Italy [2011] ECHR Application No 30814/06 (18 March 2011) Summary In this case, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held that crucifixes in Italian State schools do not infringe the art [...]
Lack of Adequate Healthcare in Prison is Inhumane and Degrading Kupczak v Poland [2011] ECHR 127 (25 January 2011) Summary Mr Edward Kupczak (the ‘applicant’) was held in detention in Poland awaiting trial for offences related to organised crime. The Applicant was severely disabled in a car accident six years prior to his detention, and [...]
Shamrocks and Poppies Allowed, but Easter Lilies Likely to Aggravate Donaldson v the United Kingdom – 56975/09 [2011] ECHR 210 (25 January 2011) Summary A majority of the European Court of Human Rights declared that an application concerning a ban on all prisoners in Northern Ireland wearing emblems with a political or sectarian connotation outside [...]
School Exclusion and the Right to Education Ali v United Kingdom – 40385/06 [2011] ECHR 17 (11 January 2011) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the exclusion of a student from school during the investigation of a criminal offence, and subsequent removal of the student from the school’s roll, did not constitute [...]
Permissible Use of Force and the Investigation of Police-Related Deaths Bennett v United Kingdom – 5527/08 [2010] ECHR 2142 (7 December 2010) An essential safeguard to the right of life enshrined in art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights is that effective official investigations are conducted when individuals are killed through the use [...]
Enforcing the Right to Vote: UK Government Given Deadline to Reinstate Prisoners’ Right to Vote Greens and MT v United Kingdom [2010] ECHR 1826 (23 November 2010) The European Court of Human Rights recently considered the United Kingdom’s continued failure to amend legislation imposing a blanket ban on voting in national and European elections for [...]
European Court Considers Rights to Privacy and the Home and Procedural Safeguards against Eviction Kay & Ors v United Kingdom [2010] ECHR 1322 (21 September 2010) This decision concerned the right to respect for home under art 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights decided that the decision [...]
Protection of Journalistic Sources: Compulsion to Disclose Information without Review by Independent Body a Breach of Right to Freedom of Expression Sanoma Uitgevers BV v The Netherlands [2010] ECHR 1284 (14 September 2010) Journalistic material was seized by public authorities in the course of a criminal investigation despite a confidentiality agreement between the journalists and [...]
The Right to a Fair Hearing within a Reasonable Time McFarlane v Ireland [2010] ECHR 1272 (10 September 2010) In a decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, Ireland was held by twelve votes to five to be in breach of the right to have a hearing within a reasonable [...]
Right to Equality: Recognising and Prohibiting Discrimination beyond ‘Innate’ or ‘Inherent’ Characteristics Clift v United Kingdom [2010] ECHR 1106 (13 July 2010) In Clift v The United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights gave a broad reading to art 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, finding that a person’s status as a [...]
Do the Rights to Marriage and Equality Require States to Recognise Same-Sex Marriage? Schalk and Kopf v Austria [2010] 30141/04 (24 June 2010) Does the right to marry, and the ‘family unit’, extend to same-sex couples? The European Court of Human Rights recent decision in Schalk and Kopf v Austria considers these issues. Facts Under [...]
Threat of Torture during Interrogation Amounts to Inhuman Treatment Gafgen v Germany [2010] ECHR 759 (1 June 2010) The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has found, by majority, that a threat of torture amounted to inhuman treatment, but was not sufficiently cruel to amount to torture within the meaning of the [...]
Right to Privacy and the Interception and Surveillance of Communications Kennedy v United Kingdom [2010] ECHR 682 (18 May 2010) Whilst specific breaches of the European Convention of Human Rights were not ultimately upheld, this case provides insight into the application and scope of the right to privacy enshrined in art 8 of the Convention. [...]
Conviction for War Crimes Not a Violation of the Prohibition against Punishment without Law Kononov v Latvia [2010] ECHR 667 (17 May 2010) The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights considered whether criminal law was retrospectively applied to convict Mr Kononov, in violation of art 7 of the European Convention of Human [...]
Refusal to Recognise Change of Ethnic Identity is Discriminatory and Breaches Right to Respect for Private Life Ciubotaru v Moldova [2010] ECHR 638 (27 April 2010) In Ciubotaru v Moldova, the European Court of Human Rights held that, along with such aspects as name, gender, religion and sexual orientation, an individual’s ethnic identity constitutes an [...]
Right to Privacy and Protection of Children and Families MAK and RK v United Kingdom [2010] ECHR 363 (23 March 2010) The European Court of Human Rights has held that restrictive hospital visiting conditions imposed on a father, the first applicant, suspected of abusing his daughter, the second applicant, breached the right to private and [...]
‘Deeming’ Traffic Offences Breaches Right to Presumption of Innocence and Silence Krumpholz v Austria [2010] ECHR 341 (18 March 2010) In Krumpholz v Austria, the European Court of Human Rights held that deeming the owner of a vehicle to have committed a traffic offence (by virtue of their ownership of the vehicle) breaches the European [...]
Right to Private Life and Protection of Children AD and OD v United Kingdom [2010] ECHR 340 (16 March 2010) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the United Kingdom breached its obligation to respect private and family life under art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights because of errors made [...]
Protection from Cruel Treatment and the Death Penalty: UK Breaches Convention Obligations by Transferring Prisoners to Iraqi Custody Al-Sadoom and Mufdhi v United Kingdom [2010] ECHR 282 (2 March 2010) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the United Kingdom breached a number of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights [...]
Same-Sex Relationships: Right to Non-Discrimination and Succession to Public Tenancy Kozak v Poland [2010] ECHR 280 (2 March 2010) The European Court of Human Rights has held that Poland violated arts 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights by denying a man living in a homosexual relationship the right to succeed to [...]
Serious Criminal Offences, Deportation and the Right to Family Life A W Khan v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 27(12 January 2010) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the deportation of a convicted heroin trafficker, who had not re-offended since release from prison and had developed strong ties with a country based on [...]
European Court Holds that Stop and Search Powers Violate Privacy and are ‘Not in Accordance with Law’ Gillan and Quinton v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 28 (12 January 2010) The European Court of Human Rights held that stop and search powers granted to police under the ss 44-47 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (UK) were [...]
European Court Delivers Judgment in Landmark Human Trafficking Case Rantsev v Cyprus and Russia [2010] ECHR 25965/04 (7 January 2010) In a landmark judgment the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that human trafficking fell within the scope of art 4 (prohibiting slavery, servitude and forced labour) of the European Convention. The Court clarified [...]
Fox Hunting and the Right to Private Life Friend and Countryside Alliance v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 2068 (17 December 2009) In this case, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that a ban on fox hunting with dogs in the United Kingdom does not impinge upon the human rights enshrined in the European [...]
The Right to Free Expression and the Protection of Journalistic Sources: When Can a Journalist be Compelled to Reveal their Source? Financial Times Ltd & Ors v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 2065 (15 December 2009) This decision explores the right to freedom of expression as it applies to the protection of journalists’ sources. The Court’s [...]
Right to Respect for Family Life and Equal Treatment: Fathers’ Right to Custody of a Child Born out of Wedlock Zaunegger v Germany [2009] ECHR 22028/04 (3 December 2009) In this case, the European Court of Human Rights held by six votes to one that the denial of a fathers’ right to custody of a [...]
Deportation of Non-Nationals and the Right to Respect for Family Life Omojudi v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 1820/08 (24 November 2009) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the deportation of Steven Omojudi from the United Kingdom to Nigeria was an unjustifiable interference with Omojudi’s right to respect for private and family life [...]
The Right to Life, Use of Force and Policing Protests Giuliani and Gaggio v Italy [2009] ECHR 23458/02 (25 August 2009) The European Court of Human Rights has found that Italy failed to adequately investigate the death of a protestor by a member of the military police, or carabinieri, and this failure to investigate breached [...]
Freedom of Expression and the Restrictions on Advertising regarding Cruel Treatment of Animals Verein Gegen Tierfabriken Schweiz (VgT) v Switzerland (No 2) [2009] ECHR 32772/02 (30 June 2009) In VgT v Switzerland (No 2) the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held that not only should the State refrain from interfering with [...]
European Court Considers State Obligations to Prevent and Address Domestic Violence Opuz v Turkey [2009] ECHR 33401/02 (9 June 2009) In June 2009, the European Court of Human Rights found Turkey in violation of its obligations, under arts 2, 3 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to protect the applicant and her [...]
Monitoring and Confidentiality of Prisoner Correspondence Szuluk v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 36936/05 (2 June 2009) The European Court of Human Rights has held that it is a disproportionate interference with an individual’s right to privacy to monitor their confidential medical correspondence with their specialist. The prison governor had directed that the applicant’s correspondence with [...]
Right of Access to Court Imposes Positive Obligation on Courts to Inform Litigants of Rights and Entitlements Kulikowski v Poland [2009] ECHR 18353/03 (19 May 2009) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the right to access courts imposes positive obligations on courts to inform individuals of their entitlements, that delays in obtaining [...]
Detention and Treatment in Government-Run ‘Sobering Up’ Centre may Amount to Ill-Treatment Wiktorko v Poland [2009] ECHR 14612/02 (31 March 2009) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the treatment of a Polish national, whilst detained at a government-run ‘sobering-up centre’, constituted degrading treatment in violation of the substantive protection of art 3 [...]
Prohibition against Arbitrary Detention and the Right to Procedural Fairness A and Ors v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 3455/05 [Grand Chamber] (19 February 2009) In a case relating to the detention of non-national terror suspects in the UK, the European Court of Human Rights held that: detention pending deportation cannot be justified under art 5(1)(f) [...]
In the case of Leonidis v Greece, the European Court of Human Rights considered art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the context of the police shooting of an 18 year old male (Victim). In making its decision, the Court considered whether: the death of the applicant’s son amounted to a breach [...]
The European Court of Human Rights recently found that the Government of Turkey, having ordered lawyer Ayhan Erdoðan to pay compensation for remarks that he made against a public figure during court proceedings, had breached Mr Erdoðan’s right to freedom of speech in violation of art 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article [...]
Is Refusal to Attend a Funeral a Breach of the Right to a Private and Family Life for Prisoners? Czarnowski v Poland [2009] ECHR 28586/035 (20 January 2009) The Applicant, Mr Edward Czarnowski, lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights against Poland for breach of art 8 of the European Convention on [...]
Reliance on Witness Statement where Cross-Examination not Available may Violate Right to a Fair Hearing Al-Khawaja and Tahery v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 26766/05 (20 January 2009) The European Court of Human Rights has held that allowing a witness statement to be admitted as evidence where the witness is not available for cross examination and [...]
In this case, the European Court of Human Rights considered the right to freedom of expression in the context of political advertising in the media. This judgment again shows that there must be a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the legitimate aim pursued by a statutory prohibition and the means deployed to achieve that aim. [...]
The case concerns the applicant’s complaint about the excessive length of his pre-trial detention and inadequacy of the medical care he had received during that time. After the applicant’s death, the applicant’s wife alleged that the authorities contributed to her husband’s death by failing to take the appropriate measures to protect his health and life. [...]
The case of S and Marper v United Kingdom considered whether the retention of DNA and fingerprints from innocent people is consistent with human rights law. This case will be particularly informative for the interpretation and application of s 13 (privacy) and s 7 (limitations) of the Victorian Charter. Detailed case note.
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has overruled a lower chamber decision, finding that the right to a fair trial (prescribed in art 6 of European Convention on Human Rights) includes access to legal assistance during the investigation stage of a suspect by the police. Detailed case note.
On 16 October 2008, the European Court of Human Rights held that the suicide of a mentally ill prisoner in France was attributable to the authorities’ failure to provide adequate medical care. This failure was a breach of the deceased’s right to life and right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment. Detailed case [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has held that a UK decision of a public authority to remove a child from its family, on the basis of an incorrect diagnosis, was not a breach of art 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights which provides for the right to respect for private and family [...]
The European Court of Human Rights held that there was a violation of art 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights when criminal proceedings were instituted against the applicant for having worn a totalitarian symbol in public. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that the measures taken by a Finnish hospital to safeguard the right to respect for private life of an HIV-positive patient of the hospital, who was also employed by the hospital from time to time as a nurse, were inadequate and in violation of art 8 (the [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has held that, by allowing an individual to be excluded from participating in their child’s adoption proceedings, Croatia violated its obligation to ensure the right to respect for private and family life under art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights held that there had been a violation of art 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights because the applicant’s conditions of detention were not appropriate to his state of health. In the Court’s view, in circumstances such as these, the State should [...]
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has held that the deportation of a youth who had spent the majority of his childhood in Austria constituted a violation of his right to respect for his family and private life.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that Poland violated its obligation to ensure a fair trial under art 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to grant legal aid to an individual in respect of civil proceedings. However, the Court held that a denial of legal aid was justified where [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has found that the United Kingdom violated art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to provide adequate procedural safeguards to protect the right to respect of a person’s home in the context of public housing. Detailed case note.
A decision of the ACT Supreme Court has considered the scope of the right to family life and protection in the context of adoption proceedings. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that a Polish prisoner’s right to respect for his family life was violated by onerous visitation restrictions, which substantially prevented him from seeing his wife and son. The applicant was awaiting a final determination on a serious assault charge. Although his wife had previously made a statement [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has held that the right to a fair hearing requires an oral hearing which may only be dispensed of in exceptional circumstances. Detailed case note.
In this case, the European Court of Human Rights considered human rights issues arising from involuntary admission and treatment on the ground of mental illness. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights has considered a case of nuisance caused by a wind turbine, based on the right to respect for private and family life (art 8) and the right to protection of property (art 1 of Protocol No 1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights held that the Russian Federation violated its positive obligation to protect the right to life under art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to: establish legislative and administrative frameworks to deter any threat to the right to life; and provide an adequate judicial response following [...]
In this case, the European Court of Human Rights considered the legality of: 1. detaining a mentally ill prisoner pending transfer to a psychiatric hospital; and 2. the length of pre-trial detention – under arts 5(1) and 5(3)of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note.
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has recently considered the scope and application of art 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides that no person shall be subject to a ‘heavier penalty than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed’. Detailed case [...]
The Grand Chamber of European Court of Human Rights in E.B. v France held that the refusal to authorise an adoption application by a woman in a same-sex relationship, on the basis of her sexuality, amounted to a violation of arts 14 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note.
The European Court has held that public authorities have a particular duty and responsibility for the health and well-being of those in its custody or detention. The Court further held that a failure to provide adequate mental health care to detainees in circumstances which do not adequately accommodate, or which result in the deterioration of, [...]
On 4 December 2007, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights handed down it’s decision in Dickson v The United Kingdom, a case concerning prisoners’ access to artificial insemination facilities. The applicants complained that the refusal by the Secretary of State to allow the first applicant access to artificial insemination facilities whilst [...]
The European Court of Human Rights recently held that the imprisonment of a journalist for refusing to disclose the identity of a confidential source constituted a violation of the right to freedom of expression under art 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note.
In a judgment handed down on 15 November 2007, the European Court of Human Rights held that a state’s failure to adequately protect a person from defamation amounted to a breach of art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines the right to respect for private and family life. The judgment also [...]
The European Court of Human Rights in Oganova v Georgia found that, generally, the right to a fair hearing implies the right to an oral hearing but that, in certain special circumstances, it may be permissible for an appellate court to determine a matter by written submissions in the interests of the efficient administration of [...]
In Gault v United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights held that the detention of Ms Lesley Gault pending re-trial violated art 5(1)(c) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Relevantly, the Court held that, pursuant to art 5(1)(c), the proximity or imminence of a trial does not justify pre-trial detention that would not [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has recently considered the content and application of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, holding that ‘the right to freedom of assembly is a fundamental right in a democratic society’ and that any exceptions to the right ‘must be narrowly interpreted and the necessity for any [...]
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has considered the nature and scope of art 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines the right to non-discrimination and the equal enjoyment of human rights. The Grand Chamber held that the education policy in the Czech Republic, which resulted in the [...]
This decision considered the extent to which it is permissible for a state to limit the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the context of a public demonstration. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that the eviction of a woman from public housing in circumstances where the public authority had not ensured that she had adequate alternative housing constituted a violation of the right to respect for private life and the home. Detailed case note.
To what extent is it acceptable to limit the right to freedom of expression to protect a person’s reputation? A recent decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, Lindon v France, considers the question. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that judicial decisions in defamation proceedings brought against a Moldovan newspaper interfered with its right to freedom of expression, and more specifically its right to disseminate public opinion on a matter of public interest. The decision addressed the permissible limitations on the right to freedom of expression [...]
Three recent cases from the European Court of Human Rights consider the principles to be applied in determining whether continued detention is lawful. This case note considers the potential impact of these decisions on the interpretation of ss 21(5) and (6) of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). Detailed case note.
Three recent cases from the European Court of Human Rights consider the principles to be applied in determining whether continued detention is lawful. This case note considers the potential impact of these decisions on the interpretation of ss 21(5) and (6) of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). Detailed case note.
Three recent cases from the European Court of Human Rights consider the principles to be applied in determining whether continued detention is lawful. This case note considers the potential impact of these decisions on the interpretation of ss 21(5) and (6) of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). Detailed case note.
In this case, the applicant, a man with chronic schizophrenia, was subjected to the practices of restraint and seclusion while detained. The applicant successfully complained to the European Court of Human Rights of violations of art 3 (prohibition on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) and art 5 (right to liberty and security of [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has held that the right to a fair hearing subsumes a right of access to a court and that a requirement to pay substantial court fees to file or proceed with a claim may constitute a violation of that right. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that the medical treatment of a prisoner within a remand centre and prison hospital was inadequate and that failure to treat him as an inpatient at a hospital where he could receive the necessary neurological and hyperbaric oxygen treatment amounted to a violation of the prohibition on [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has considered two cases in which it held that the relevant State party had interfered with the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in art 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights. That right is protected by s 16(1) of the Victorian Charter. In both cases, domestic law [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has considered two cases in which it held that the relevant State party had interfered with the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in art 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights. That right is protected by s 16(1) of the Victorian Charter. In both cases, domestic law [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has held that pre-trial custody will only be lawful if there are ‘relevant and sufficient’ grounds for detaining a person. Prolonged pre-trial detention must be regularly reviewed and will only be justifiable in exceptional circumstances. Detailed case note.
In a judgment handed down on 12 June 2007, the European Court of Human Rights held that particular strip searches conducted on the applicant violated the prohibition on degrading treatment in art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’). Further, certain restrictions placed on the applicant’s correspondence violated the right to privacy protected [...]
Two recent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the scope and content of art 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights have confirmed that the right to a fair hearing subsumes a right of access to the courts. Detailed case note.
Two recent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the scope and content of art 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights have confirmed that the right to a fair hearing subsumes a right of access to the courts. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that serious allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment must be the subject of expeditious, effective and independent investigation. It has further held that evidence of ill-treatment, particularly of persons in custody, will give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the ill-treatment [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has found that Poland violated its obligations to protect the right to freedom of assembly as a result of a failure to facilitate and accommodate a protest regarding discrimination against minority groups. Detailed case note.
In a judgment handed down on 19 April 2007, the Grand Chamber of European Court of Human Rights considered the scope of the right to a fair hearing in the context of civil proceedings, with particular reference to the acceptable length of proceedings and the necessity of an oral hearing. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that a public college which monitored an employee’s telephone, email and internet usage without her knowledge engaged in conduct amounting to an interference with her right to respect for private life and correspondence within the meaning of art 8 of the European Convention. Detailed case note.
In a series of recent cases, the European Court of Human Rights has found conditions of detention in prisons to be incompatible with the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment enshrined in art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note on the cases of Andrey [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has found a violation of art 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights on account of the authorities’ failure to provide a prisoner with medical care appropriate to his conditions. Detailed case note.
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