Strasbourg Observers

View posts from: Cases

  • PODCAST

Climate change litigation at the Strasbourg Court with Corina Heri

February 23, 2026

We’re excited to bring you closer to the European Court of Human Rights through our brand-new podcast. Join us as we explore key judgments, discuss emerging legal trends, and talk with experts and academics who help make sense of Strasbourg’s evolving jurisprudence. Whether you’re a seasoned legal scholar or just curious about human rights in […]

  • Ergün Cakal

Assessing the adequacy of healthcare in prison: The deference to medical evidence in Fernandez Iradi v. France

February 20, 2026

by Ergün Cakal What is the adequate level of healthcare in prison? How are judges to make such assessments (and how well placed are they to do so anyway)? How is a prisoner’s own refusal of treatment to be weighed in that assessment? When does a lack of healthcare require that a prisoner be released? […]

  • Dr Rishika Sahgal

Illegality, Proportionality and the Right to Home: Ayala Flores v Italy

February 10, 2026

By Dr Rishika Sahgal On 23 October 2025, a Chamber of seven judges of the European Court of Human Rights handed down judgment in a case challenging the proportionality of a demolition order imposed on the home of the applicant, under Article 8 of the Convention. The case  raises important issues with regards to the […]

  • Thomas Joyce

Overrelying on the Principle of Criminalisation? Vainik and Others v Estonia and the Human Right to Smoke

January 20, 2026

By Dr. Thomas Joyce Introduction In November 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that inmates should not be prohibited from smoking in prison, pursuant to Article 8 of the ECHR. A small number of inmates brought the case against Estonia, after the Estonian Supreme Court (Riigiohus) declared that the complete ban on […]

  • Babette De Naeyer

The Bradshaw Show: Disinformation and Election Influence under Strasbourg Scrutiny

January 16, 2026

By Babette De Naeyer Just before closing the books for the summer, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) decided a novel and highly anticipated Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 (Article 3 P-1) case in Bradshaw a.o. v. the United Kingdom (22 July 2025), concerning disinformation and Russian election interference. The case had […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • Ufuk Yeşil

The ECtHR’s Demirhan Judgment: The Issue of Systemic Judicial Problems in Turkey

October 21, 2025

By Dr. Ufuk Yeşil On July 22, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgment in Demirhan and Others v. Türkiye (Demirhan), addressing the convictions of 239 Turkish nationals for alleged membership in the Gülen movement, primarily based on their alleged use of the encrypted messaging application ByLock. Building on the landmark […]

  • Sam Chollet

A (binary) right to self-determination: T.H. v. Czech Republic

October 14, 2025

by Sam Chollet In T.H. v. Czech Republic, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) reiterated that the requirement for trans* people to undergo genital surgery to have their gender legally recognised violates the right to private life. But this apparent victory for trans* rights represents a drawback for non-binary trans* people. Summary of the […]

  • Costas Paraskeva and Eleni Meleagrou

The quest for an effective remedy has downgraded the rights to property and home of the Greek Cypriot IDPs and upgraded the de facto authority of the illegal regime in the north of Cyprus (‘TRNC’): K.V. Mediterranean Tours Limited v. Türkiye, the Court’s latest judgment 

September 30, 2025

By Dr Costas Paraskeva and Eleni Meleagrou Introduction On June 10, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (‘The Court’) delivered its judgment in the case of K.V. Mediterranean Tours Limited v. Türkiye . This is the fourth time that the Court has reviewed the domestic remedy set up by Türkiye, within its subordinate administration of […]

  • Gvantsa Danelia

Beyond the Finding: Matchavariani v. Georgia and the Lingering Questions for Protest Adjudication in Georgia

September 26, 2025

by Gvantsa Danelia The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recently delivered its judgment in Matchavariani v. Georgia (Application no. 46852/21). At first glance, the case might seem like another routine finding of a violation in an administrative detention case. However, a closer examination reveals a subtle yet crucial message from Strasbourg, particularly concerning a […]

  • Giorgi Nakashidze

Not Afraid of International Humanitarian Law Anymore: the European Court of Human Rights after Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia

September 09, 2025

By Dr. Giorgi Nakashidze The European Court of Human Rights’ (“Court”) judgment of 9 July 2025 in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia (‘Judgment’) marks a milestone in the Court’s evolving engagement with international humanitarian law (IHL). Although the Judgment raises numerous issues deserving of detailed analysis (see e.g. Milanović, Risini, Khachatryan), this post focuses […]

  • Alex Geraki Trimi

Asking migrants to document their killing: Almukhlas and Al-Maliki v. Greece

September 05, 2025

by Alex Geraki Trimi The case of Almukhlas and Al-Maliki v. Greece concerned the interception of a yacht carrying 94 migrants near the Greek island of Symi by members of the Greek Coast Guard and Frontex (under the Joint operation Poseidon) that resulted in the killing of a child of Iraqi nationality, Ameer, by the […]

  • Sibel Yılmaz Coşkun

Derrek and Others v. Russia: hesitancy on the path to a qualitative Article 3 threshold in LGBT-Phobia Cases?

August 27, 2025

By Sibel Yilmaz Coşkun          In its judgment of Derrek and Others v. Russia (29 April 2025; hereinafter Derrek), the European Court of Human Rights (the Court/ECtHR) addressed a police raid on an LGBT workshop, during which participants faced humiliating treatment and forced drug testing. The Court unanimously found violations of Articles 5 §1 and […]

  • Stefanos Xenofontos

State Complicity and the Gendered Architecture of Disbelief: A Critical Reading of N.T. v. Cyprus

August 22, 2025

by dr. Stefanos Xenofontos On 3 July 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’ or ‘the Court’) delivered its judgment in the case of N.T. v. Cyprus, unanimously finding violations of Articles 3, 8, and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’) arising from the Cypriot authorities’ failure to effectively investigate and […]

  • Ufuk Yeşil

The ECtHR Judgment in Selahattin Demirtaş v. Türkiye (No. 4): A Landmark Case on Political Repression and Human Rights

August 20, 2025

By Dr. Ufuk Yeşil  On July 8 2025, the European Court of Human Rights’ (the ECtHR or the Court) addressed violations stemming from the prolonged detention of Selahattin Demirtaş, the former HDP co-chair, in Selahattin Demirtaş v. Türkiye (No. 4), exposing systemic judicial abuses targeting political dissent in Türkiye. This blog post analyzes this  judgment, and connects it […]

  • Davit Khachatryan

The Judgment in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia: A “Nicaragua Moment” for the ECtHR?

July 23, 2025

By Davit Khachatryan On 9 July 2025, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its highly anticipated judgment in the inter-State case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia. This landmark case addresses Russia’s responsibility for a litany of human rights violations arising from the conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014, […]

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