A Duty to Prosecute Hate Speech under the European Convention on Human Rights?
Freedom of expression is “one of the essential foundations of any democratic society” (Handyside) and recent events have shown that Europeans remain firmly committed to it. At the same time,...
Hutchinson v UK – A Change in Direction on Whole Life Orders?
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled in Hutchinson v UK that the imposition of a ‘whole life order’ for murder does not violate Article 3 ECHR. The...
Brighton and Beyond – Where Next for the European Convention on Human Rights?
Two reports have been released which shine a spotlight on the relationship between national authorities (especially parliaments) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Both take stock of the...
UK vs ECtHR: The Prisoner Voting Saga Continues
On 12 August 2014, the Fourth Section Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Firth and others held yet again the UK’s blanket disenfranchisement of prisoners, in accordance...
Property Rights, Pension Claims, and the Problematic Features of the ECtHR’s Proportionality Review
Although less mind-blowing than other recent Strasbourg judgments, the case of Stefanetti and Others v. Italy is an interesting one, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the European Court...
Hämäläinen v Finland: The Transgender Divorce Requirement in Strasbourg
In the landmark 2002 decision, Goodwin v United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”), citing an “unmistakable trend” among Council of Europe member states, established a general right...
Professor Frances Raday Comments on SAS v France
In the Grand Chamber judgment in the case of S.A.S. v. France, the European Court of Human Rights held, by a majority, that Law no. 2010-1192 of 11 October 2010...
SAS v France in Context: the margin of appreciation doctrine and protection of minorities
In SAS v France the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that a French law prohibiting the concealment of the face in public places did...
Conform or be confined: S.A.S. v France
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 1st July that France’s ban on face coverings, known as the burqa-ban, does not breach the European Convention on Human Rights. The...
European Legal Aid in a Domestic Framework – Part Two
As hinted in yesterday’s post, under section 4 of LASPO, The Lord Chancellor provided guidance on how to decide exceptional case funding applications made to the Legal Aid Agency. The...
A European Right to Legal Aid? Part One
A key aspect of the Government’s reform agenda regarding civil legal aid is the restriction, set out in Schedule 1 to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act...
McDonald v UK: The ECtHR on Social Care Provision
So did Ms McDonald OBE, former ballerina, win her case in the European Court of Human Rights (McDonald v UK) or not? The Guardian on 20 May 2014 said: “European...
