July 18, 2025
by Alberto Godioli and Jennifer Young *** To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Strasbourg Observers Blog, we organised an in-person symposium with scholars, practitioners, and members of the ECtHR on 8–9 May 2025 in Ghent. Connecting in person with so many regular contributors was a wonderful experience and led to engaging dialogue with current […]
July 16, 2025
by dr Angela Hefti Introduction In Switzerland, every two weeks a woman is killed, and women experience disproportionately high levels of domestic violence. Femi(ni)cide is not only a Latin American problem, although the term gained prominence in relation to the disappearance, rape and murders of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Femicide is a systemic issue […]
July 15, 2025
By Cathérine Van de Graaf and Beril Onder *** To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Strasbourg Observers Blog, we organised an in-person symposium with scholars, practitioners, and members of the ECtHR on 8–9 May 2025 in Ghent. Connecting in person with so many regular contributors was a wonderful experience and led to engaging dialogue […]
July 11, 2025
By Anaïs Brucher *** To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Strasbourg Observers Blog, we organised an in-person symposium with scholars, practitioners, and members of the ECtHR on 8–9 May 2025 in Ghent. Connecting in person with so many regular contributors was a wonderful experience and led to engaging dialogue with current and former judges […]
July 09, 2025
By Thomas Spijkerboer The Court’s inadmissibility decision of 12 June 2025 in S.S. and Others v. Italy is the end of a story that began 3.140 days before.
July 04, 2025
by Moritz Baumgärtel NB: An extended version of this blog post will be published in the edited volume Race, Racism and the European Convention on Human Rights, edited by Vandita Khanna and Kirsty Hughes (Hart Publishing, forthcoming) *** To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Strasbourg Observers Blog, we organised an in-person symposium with scholars, […]
July 02, 2025
By Lorena Sosa The case of I.C. v. The Republic of Moldova intersects with two strands of ECtHR jurisprudence: (1) the Court’s developing understanding of sexual violence, rape and sexual exploitation, and (2) its evolving anti-stereotyping framework, particularly regarding persons with disabilities. Against the backdrop of landmark rulings, this judgment further enriches the Court’s often […]
June 24, 2025
by Harriet Ní Chinnéide Introduction Tergek v. Türkiye concerned a blanket ban on prisoners receiving any internet printouts or photocopied documents, based solely on their format. The Court found that the ban constituted a proportionate restriction on the applicant’s right to receive information under Article 10 ECHR largely because reviewing a large volume of printed […]
June 20, 2025
Eloïse Ward In Ships Waste Oil Collector B.V. and Others v Netherlands, the applicant companies alleged that the transmission of data intercepted during criminal investigations to the Competition Authority violated their rights to private life under Article 8. The substance of this case raises important questions about what safeguards against arbitrariness are adequate when data […]
June 13, 2025
By Jernej Letnar Černič The global financial crisis from 2008 to 2014 led to several bank bankruptcies worldwide and pushed many others to the brink of collapse. The crisis was exacerbated by the mismanagement of bank funds, as banks in many European countries, such as Iceland, Slovenia, and Spain, among others, approved loans without sufficient […]
June 10, 2025
By Dr. Katarzyna Sękowska-Kozłowska The judgment in X v. Cyprus of 27 February 2025 marks a significant contribution to the European Court of Human Rights’ developing anti-stereotyping approach in cases of sexual violence. While building on its earlier judgments, particularly J.L. v. Italy (commented on here), which exposed victim-blaming stereotypes and re-victimisation, it brings added […]
June 03, 2025
by Gunay Ismayilova Introduction On 6 March 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter, the Court) delivered its judgment in Hasani v. Sweden, addressing the State’s positive obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights to protect individuals when the risk to a person derives from self-harm. Although the Court ultimately […]
May 30, 2025
by Dr. Betül Durmuş Introduction Over the summer, Bulgaria and Georgia adopted their own ‘anti-gay propaganda laws’ prohibiting dissemination of information concerning sexual orientation or gender identity, under the guise of protecting children. And, on 19 November 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union held a hearing on the infringement proceedings against Hungary’s […]
May 20, 2025
By Hanim Schnabel In P v. Poland, the ECtHR ruled by 4 votes to 3 that the dismissal of a homosexual secondary school teacher for, inter alia, writing a blog for adults with some sexually explicit content violated Article 10 of the Convention. Without taking a stance on whether the dismissal actually pursued a legitimate […]
May 16, 2025
By Lorenza Grossi The ECtHR examines the compatibility between special prison regimes and Article 3 ECHR. More precisely, under scrutiny is Article 41-bis of Law No. 354 of 26 July 1975 (the Italian Prison Law), also known as ‘hard prison.’ This provision allows the suspension of ordinary prison conditions – such as outdoor time and […]
May 09, 2025
By Ellen Desmet, Ilse Derluyn and Sara Lembrechts F.B. v. Belgium concerns the decision of the Belgian Guardianship Service to terminate the support of an unaccompanied minor following an age assessment. While the ECtHR found a violation of Article 8 ECHR due to a lack of sufficient safeguards, it did not substantively engage with the […]
May 02, 2025
by dr. Mathieu Leloup Introduction Parliamentary immunity is a staple of domestic constitutional law, designed to protect free speech in Parliament. It is present in some form or another in every country of the Council of Europe. Broadly defined, it is a legal instrument which inhibits legal action, measures of investigation, or measures of law […]
April 29, 2025
By dr. Ufuk Yeşil Is crossing the border with the wrong person enough to convict you of terrorism? On March 25, 2025, the Second Section of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered its judgement in Demirer v. Turkey, addressing the perplexing case of Serferaz Demirer, who faced conviction for purportedly being a member […]
April 25, 2025
By Reza Khabook On 3 December 2024, the ECtHR issued a Chamber judgment in El Aroud and Soughir v. Belgium. This case concerns the applicants’ citizenship revocation[1] following their terrorism-related convictions in Belgium. The Court concluded that Article 8 had not been violated and excluded the case from the scope of Article 2 of Protocol […]
April 15, 2025
by Carmen Draghici The Strasbourg Court has been notoriously reluctant to interfere with the domestic regulation of divorce, both as regards its availability (Johnston v. Ireland) and the grounds on which it may be obtained (Babiarz v. Poland, discussed here). Nonetheless, in H.W. v. France, issued in January 2025, it has shown willingness to review […]