Strasbourg Observers
  • Dr Stevie Martin

DÁNIEL KARSAI v. HUNGARY: FURTHER CLARIFICATION OF STATE OBLIGATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF ASSISTED DYING

November 26, 2024

By Dr. Stevie Martin Since its landmark 2002 decision in Pretty v the United Kingdom, the issue of assisted dying [1] has never been far from the attention of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The Court’s two most recent decisions in this context have been especially significant in terms of clarifying what the […]

  • Louise Reyntjens and Ruben Vilain

B.D. v. Belgium: a revisitation of the (in)adequacy of Belgian internment policy

November 22, 2024

By Louise Reyntjens and Ruben Vilain On August 27, in the B.D. v. Belgium judgment, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) once again found the Belgian government at fault for its treatment of interned persons in prisons. Under Belgian law, ‘internment’ is classified as a safety measure aimed at protecting society from ‘dangerous’ individuals, […]

  • Alice Margaria

Trans Family Law in Strasbourg: The Bittersweet Flavour of Savinovskikh and Others v Russia

November 19, 2024

by Alice Margaria The European Court of Human Rights (the Court) is becoming increasingly familiar with some of the struggles faced by trans parents. Over the last four years alone, it has ruled on at least three relevant cases: two concerning the termination of parental rights and one tackling the especially sensitive matter of parental […]

  • Thibaut Lesseliers

Pindo Mulla v. Spain – Blood Transfusions to Jehovah’s Witnesses: is Protecting Personal Autonomy Through Procedural Justice Enough?

November 15, 2024

By Thibaut Lesseliers The recent Pindo Mulla v. Spain grand chamber judgement of the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’, ‘the Court’) concerns the judicial authorization of the administration of a blood transfusion to a Jehovah’s Witness in an emergency situation in spite of her formally and repeatedly expressed desire to, for religious reasons, under […]

  • Alina Tryfonidou

Hanovs v. Latvia: Further clarification of the positive obligations of States in cases involving homophobic attacks

November 12, 2024

By Alina Tryfonidou The rise of homophobic and transphobic crime is a deeply troubling and pervasive issue in modern day Europe (see the FRA LGBTIQ Survey (2024), pp. 54-76). A key factor behind this is the growing wave of right-wing populism, which has contributed to an increasingly hostile social and political climate, where divisive rhetoric often targets […]

  • Zoë Grossi and Pauline Charlotte Janssens

Zăicescu and Fălticineanu v. Romania: Forsaking Non-Retroactivity – a Positive Shift in Judicial Activism Recognising Secondary Victimisation

November 08, 2024

by Zoë Grossi and Pauline Charlotte Janssens Introduction On 23 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment in the case of Zăicescu and Fălticineanu v. Romania. The Court unanimously held that Romania violated Article 8 juncto Article 14 of the Convention by acquitting two high-ranking military officials previously convicted of war […]

  • Ola Johan Settem

Crime victims’ hurdles in access to court claims: The Fabbri Grand Chamber judgment raises the bar

November 05, 2024

By Ola Johan Settem On 24 September 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered a Grand Chamber judgment in Fabbri and others v. San Marino (6319/21). The judgment concerns the rights of crime victims who attempt to pursue a civil claim against the offender by joining the criminal proceedings. The Grand Chamber clarifies […]

  • Cathérine Van de Graaf, Eva Brems and Stéphanie Hennette-Vauchez

Third Party Intervention to the ECtHR in F.D. and I.M. and three others (les Hijabeuses) v. France

October 31, 2024

By Cathérine Van de Graaf, Eva Brems and Stéphanie Hennette-Vauchez The Human Rights Centre[i] of Ghent University, joined by prof. Stéphanie Hennette-Vauchez (Université Paris Nanterre) submitted a third party intervention to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or the Court) in the communicated case of F.D. and I.M. and three others v. France (38506/23, […]

  • Sarah Ganty

Sliding Fast Down the Slippery Slope of Criminalization of Poverty in Strugurel Ion Dian against Denmark

October 29, 2024

By Sarah Ganty In Dian, the Court flushes the promise of the Lăcătuş judgment that ‘begging, as a form of the right to call on another person to obtain his or her assistance, must evidently be regarded as a basic freedom’ (§59) down the drain. The Court adopts a skewed vision of poverty, finding in […]

  • Yasir Gökce

The European Court’s Deference to Türkiye: A Critical Review of the Yasak Judgment

October 25, 2024

by Dr. iur. Yasir Gökce The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) pronounced recently an interesting judgment in the Yasak case, which appears to negate many of its conclusions in the landmark Yalcinkaya ruling. In the latter judgment, the Court characterised the practice of the Turkish judiciary to equate the alleged download or use of […]

  • Isabel Kienzle and Jonathan Kießling

Evidently unlawful, yet difficult to evidence: M.A. and Z.R. v. Cyprus advances Strasbourg’s case law on pushbacks

October 22, 2024

By Isabel Kienzle and Jonathan Kießling For the first time, in M.A. and Z.R. v. Cyprus, the ECtHR has decided on a pushback case against Cyprus, addressing the island state’s practice to intercept and return migrants arriving from Lebanon without an individual assessment of their protection needs. As the parties provided conflicting accounts of the […]

  • Deekshitha Ganesan and Richard Köhler

Trans People in Prison and the Law: Lessons from W.W. v. Poland

October 18, 2024

Deekshitha Ganesan and Richard Köhler On 11 July 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) delivered an important decision in the case of W.W. v. Poland, finding that Polish prison authorities’ denial of access to hormone replacement therapy to a trans woman who was imprisoned violated Article 8 of the European Convention on […]

  • Strasbourg Observers

Strasbourg Observers 15th Anniversary Symposium: Call for papers

October 14, 2024

8-9 May 2025, Ghent  Founded in April 2010, the Strasbourg Observers Blog is soon celebrating its 15th Anniversary. At this occasion, we are organizing a symposium in Ghent, Belgium. This symposium will be an occasion for real-life exchange between the blog’s readers, contributors and the current and former members of its editorial team. At the […]

  • Moritz Baumgärtel

Whatever happened to Greek hotspots? The routine handling of routine violations in M.A. and others v. Greece

October 11, 2024

Moritz Baumgärtel On 3 October 2024, the Fifth Section of the ECtHR, sitting as a Committee, delivered its judgment in the case of M.A. and others v. Greece. The Court found a violation of Article 3 ECHR due to the unacceptable living conditions in the Chios Vial and Samos Reception and Identification Centres (“RICs”). Together […]