Strasbourg Observers

View posts from: Adoption

  • Vesna Stefanovska

Macedonian courts’ failure to recognize rights and balance interests concerning adoption in the case of Mitrevska v. North Macedonia

June 21, 2024

By Dr Vesna Stefanovska On 14 May 2024, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment in the case of Mitrevska v. North Macedonia. The Court ruled that North Macedonia had violated its positive obligations under Article 8 of the Convention as the domestic authorities failed to strike a balance between the competing interests […]

  • Jill Marshall

Cultural, Linguistic and Religious Identity and Care: recent developments in the case law

September 05, 2023

By Jill Marshall The ECHR’s text does not explicitly protect cultural rights. This position contrasts with other international human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. However, through its dynamic interpretation of the ECHR’s different articles, substantive rights have been recognised which may fall under the notion of ‘cultural […]

  • Elvira Loibl

Abdi Ibrahim v. Norway: A new Zeitgeist regarding (intercultural) adoptions at the ECtHR

April 11, 2022

By Elvira Loibl Introduction The case concerned the decision by the Norwegian authorities to allow the adoption of a child by a ‘Norwegian Christian’ foster family against the wishes of his mother, a Muslim Somali refugee. The judgment seems to reflect the new Zeitgeist regarding adoptions, which came to be viewed more critically within the […]