Kurt v Austria: ECHR Positive Obligations Without a Coercive Sting?
A terrible family drama reopens the debate about the coercive sting of ECHR positive obligations Measures to prevent crime have always been considered part of the positive obligations under Article...
UK’s Approach Towards the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
In R (on the application of AB) v Secretary of State for Justice, the teenage Appellant was sentenced for imprisonment at the Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution. Due to his problematic...
The Mass-Surveillance Cases We Might Not Want Our Courts to Hear: Big Brother Watch and Centrum för Rättvisa
The ECtHR’s 25.5.21 judgments in the two “bulk interception of communications and intelligence sharing” cases, Big Brother Watch and Others v. the UK and Centrum för Rättvisa v. Sweden, have...
Respecting Subsidiarity While Guaranteeing the Right to a Tribunal Established in Accordance with National Law: From Astradsson to Xero Flor
International bodies like the ECtHR should not easily substitute their assessment for that of national judges who have analysed a human-rights issue ‘properly’. So much is dictated by subsidiarity; and...
Association Accept and Others v. Romania: The European Court of Human Rights Takes a Fresh Look at Homophobic Speech and Biased Criminal-Law Enforcement
That hate-speech victims (who have sued unsuccessfully in a CoE member state) should obtain redress in Strasbourg is hardly surprising nowadays and ought not to constitute ‘news’. Yet their cases...
Arbitrary Blocking of Websites Violates Freedom of Expression, Rules ECtHR
In June 2020, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a series of four judgements against the arbitrary blocking of websites by the Roskomnadzor, which is the Russian federal body...
Milieudefensie v Shell: Holding Carbon Majors Accountable for Human Rights Violations
“It is clear that the global climate crisis will worsen, with devastating implications for human rights, unless society changes direction.” […] “Corporations should comply with the Guiding Principles on Business...
Mandatory Vaccination in the Czech Republic does not Violate Human Rights
Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic (8 April 2021) concerned the legal obligation of parents in the Czech Republic to vaccinate their children against ten diseases that are well-known...
Privacy at the Margins: France’s New Ban on the Hijab
On 30th March, less than a month after Switzerland held a plebiscite on banning the burqa and niqab in public spaces, the French Senate has moved to ban girls under...
The European Court of Human Rights develops important principles in pregnancy discrimination cases
More than 60 years after it started functioning, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has finally delivered its first two judgements on pregnancy discrimination. Even if these two judgements...
Coronavirus: States Derogating to Suspend Human Rights Obligations
Governments around the world are taking decisive action to contain the spread of a novel coronavirus, (COVID-19), with heavy implications for human rights. Commentators have assessed containment measures in blogs...
Facial Recognition Technology: The High Court’s flawed approach to information privacy
In September 2019, the English High Court ruled the use of automated facial recognition technology (AFR) by South Wales Police Force was consistent with ECHR Article 8 and data protection...
