Strasbourg Observers

Redressing or Acknowledging Human Rights Violations? The Roles of the ECtHR in the Otegi Cases

January 06, 2026

by Zelal Pelin Doğan When the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) finds that a Convention right has been violated, what does that finding ultimately secure for the individual concerned? Does it restore the applicant, as far as possible, to the position they would have occupied absent the violation, or does it increasingly function as […]

  • Donatas Murauskas

Delayed effect, immediate consequences: reflections on A.R. v. Poland

December 23, 2025

by Donatas Murauskas On 13 November 2025, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in A.R. v. Poland. The case concerned the Polish legal framework governing the prohibition of abortion on the ground of foetal abnormality, as well as the 2020 ruling of the Polish Constitutional Court, which effectively restricted access to abortion. […]

  • Jens T. Theilen

Afterword: What Role for the European Court of Human Rights? 

December 22, 2025

Dr. Jens T. Theilen  *** Between the 12th and the 22nd of December, Strasbourg Observers is hosted a blog symposium entitled ‘The Role of the European Court of Human Rights: Progressive, Conservative, or Both?‘ This is the concluding post in the symposium. The introduction can be found here. In addition to this post from Jens T. Theilan, […]

  • Betül Durmuş

How ‘Relevant’ are UN Treaty Body Views for the European Court of Human Rights’ Progress? 

December 19, 2025

By Dr. Betül Durmuş  *** Between the 12th and the 22nd of December, Strasbourg Observers is hosting a blog symposium entitled ‘The Role of the European Court of Human Rights: Progressive, Conservative, or Both?‘ The introduction to the symposium can be found here. In addition to this post from Betül Durmuş, the symposium includes contributions from Corina Heri, Vera […]

  • Harriet Ní Chinnéide and Tobias Mortier

Progressive is in the eye of the beholder: competing narratives on the ECtHR and its role 

December 18, 2025

by Harriet Ní Chinnéide and dr Tobias Mortier *** Between the 12th and the 22nd of December, Strasbourg Observers is hosting a blog symposium entitled ‘The Role of the European Court of Human Rights: Progressive, Conservative, or Both?‘ The introduction to the symposium can be found here. In addition to this post from  Harriet Ní Chinnéide and […]

  • Esra Demir-Gürsel

The ECtHR as a Conservative Institution (even) in the Face of Authoritarianism   

December 17, 2025

By Dr Esra Demir-Gürsel *** Between the 12th and the 22nd of December, Strasbourg Observers is hosting a blog symposium entitled ‘The Role of the European Court of Human Rights: Progressive, Conservative, or Both?‘ The introduction to the symposium can be found here. In addition to this post from Esra Demir-Gürsel, the symposium includes contributions from Corina […]

  • Vera Wriedt

The Right to Nationality: The Conservative Stance of the European Court of Human Rights in Contrast to its Inter-American and African Counterparts 

December 16, 2025

By Dr. Vera Wriedt *** Between the 12th and the 22nd of December, Strasbourg Observers is hosting a blog symposium entitled ‘The Role of the European Court of Human Rights: Progressive, Conservative, or Both?‘The introduction to the symposium can be found here. In addition to this post from Vera Wriendt, the symposium also includes contributions […]

  • Corina Heri

Temporality and the ECHR:  A Case for Functional Institutional Survival 

December 15, 2025

By Dr Corina Heri *** Between the 12th and the 22nd of December, Strasbourg Observers is hosting a blog symposium entitled ‘The Role of the European Court of Human Rights: Progressive, Conservative, or Both?‘The introduction to the symposium can be found here. In addition to this post from Corina Heri, the symposium includes contributions from […]

  • Esra Demir-Gürsel

Symposium Introduction: The Role of the European Court of Human Rights: Progressive, Conservative, or Both? 

December 12, 2025

By Dr Esra Demir-Gürsel *** Between the 12th and the 22nd of December, Strasbourg Observers is hosting a blog symposium entitled ‘The Role of the European Court of Human Rights: Progressive, Conservative, or Both?‘ This post introduces the symposium. It also includes posts from Corina Heri, Vera Wriendt, Esra Demir-Gürsel, Harriet Ní Chinnéide and Tobias […]

  • Ufuk Yeşil

The ECHR Judgment in Abo v. Turkey: An Analysis of Judicial Resistance, Legal Certainty, and the Limits of Constitutional Review 

December 09, 2025

by Dr. Ufuk Yeşil Introduction: Remedying Violations and the Critical Role of the Retrial Mechanism The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), acting as the ultimate supranational authority monitoring whether member states fulfil their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention), regards the effective implementation of its judgments within domestic law not […]

  • Vandita Khanna

Seydi and Others v. France: Proving Racial Profiling in Discrimination Law

December 04, 2025

by Vandita Khanna After three recent judgments on racial profiling (analysed here and here), Seydi and Others v France has brought the issue back before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). On 26 June 2025, the Fifth Section found France to have violated Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with Article 8 (right […]

  • Margarita S. Ilieva

Ilareva and Others v. Bulgaria: First finding of discrimination by association (procedural) for unremedied online attacks on human rights defenders

December 02, 2025

By Margarita S. Ilieva On 9 September 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court), in Ilareva and Others v. Bulgaria for the first time applied the concept of discrimination by association to human rights defenders (HRDs) targeted by hate speech due to their activism. It found a procedural breach because of a stunted […]

  • Christian J Tams

Cyprus v. Turkey – Deadlock in the Committee of Ministers, and a Proposal on How to Break It

November 27, 2025

Dr. Christian J. Tams From 2-4 December 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will meet to discuss compliance with ECtHR judgments. The agenda for the meeting is dense. States increasingly struggle to (or choose not to) ‘abide by the final judgment of the Court in any case in which they are […]

  • Strasbourg Observers

Call for Abstracts – Revisiting the ECHR: A Closer Look at Calls for Change

November 25, 2025

**As of September 2025, The Human Rights Research Group at KU Leuven has affiliated with the Human Rights Centre at Ghent University as partners of the Strasbourg Observers blog** Date Conference: 22 May 2026 Location: University of Leuven (Belgium) Conveners: Leuven Centre for Public Law – Human Rights Research Group Keynote speaker: Prof. Başak Çalı […]

  • Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska

A Tweet Too Far? The Court Reassesses Online Speech and Reputation in Danish Defamation Case

November 21, 2025

By Dr. Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska In its recent case Mortensen v. Denmark, the ECtHR had yet another opportunity to assess whether calling someone a ‘Nazi’ falls within the boundaries of freedom of expression. Following earlier cases such as Lingens v. Austria, Brosa v. Germany and Balaskas v. Greece, the Court examined in detail whether such a […]

  • Corina Heri & Hazhar Jamali

Fossil Fuel Litigation Goes to Strasbourg: Making Sense of Greenpeace Nordic

November 07, 2025

Dr. Corina Heri & Dr. Hazhar Jamali On 28 October 2025, a Chamber formation of the ECtHR issued its most recent climate judgment: Greenpeace Nordic and Others v. Norway. This highly anticipated ruling concerned the Norwegian authorities’ alleged failure to conduct an adequate environmental impact assessment before licensing oil and gas exploration on the Norwegian […]

  • Tomáš Ľalík

Figeľ v. Slovakia: Freedom of religion in defense against the formalistic doctrine of victim status

November 04, 2025

By dr. Ľalík Tomáš On 4 September 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) adopted a decision in the case of Figeľ v. Slovakia. Ján Figeľ alleged a violation of his freedom of religion due to the absolute prohibition of public worship during the Covid-19 pandemic in Slovakia. The case concerns the protection of […]

  • Dr. Elena Patrizi

Assessing the appropriateness of hearing the child ex officio in international abductions proceedings

October 31, 2025

By Dr. Elena Patrizi  The recent judgement of M.P. and Others v. Greece (application no. 2068/24), decided on 9 September 2025, addresses the question of hearing children in international abduction proceedings, making a significant contribution to the evolution of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (hereafter “the Court”) on this matter. […]

  • Casper Vanspauwen

Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina [GC]: Strasbourg’s uneasy path towards constitutional pluralism

October 28, 2025

by Casper Vanspauwen In Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2025), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) was called upon to rule once again on the compatibility of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2009), the Court had already […]

  • Lize Glas

Disenfranchisement and dialogue in Hora v. the United Kingdom

October 24, 2025

By Lize Glas In Hora v. the United Kingdom, published on 23 September 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) had to decide whether the applicant’s disenfranchisement was compatible with Article 3 of Protocol 1 (P1), which protects the right to free elections. However, the ongoing dialogue for more than twenty years between […]

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