Konstantin Markin v. Russia

Gender Justice in Strasbourg

Alexandra Timmer Grand Chamber, Konstantin Markin v. Russia, Prohibition of Discrimination, Right to Respect for Family Life, Stereotypes

Today, in the judgment of Konstantin Markin v. Russia, the Grand Chamber has re-defined its jurisprudence on sex discrimination. Regular readers of this blog will know that the “Strasbourg Observers” have taken a close interest in this case (see earlier posts here and here).  The Human Rights Centre of Ghent University – of which we are a part – actually actively participated in arguing the case: we had submitted a third party intervention to the Court. Our brief is available here.

So I am thrilled to be able to report good news on this judgment. The issue in the case is whether military servicemen can be refused parental leave when such leave is available to servicewomen. With a vote of 16 to 1, the Court has held that such a difference in treatment on the ground of sex violates article 14 (the anti-discrimination provision) in conjunction with article 8 (right to private and family life). The judgment includes a thorough gender discrimination-analysis; I will do my best to highlight the most interesting parts. Continue reading →

Live from Strasbourg: the hearing of Konstantin Markin v. Russia

Alexandra Timmer Justifications, Konstantin Markin v. Russia, Prohibition of Discrimination, Stereotypes

Together with Lourdes and Stijn, I’ve just attended the Grand Chamber hearing in the case of Konstantin Markin v. Russia. We’ve blogged about this case here and here. Just to refresh your memory: the case concerns a military serviceman, Konstantin Markin, who was divorced from his wife and who had custody of their three young children. He applied for three years parental leave, but his request was denied because only female military personnel are allowed parental leave of such duration. The issue in Strasbourg is whether this difference in treatment is allowed because sufficient justifications exist for it, or whether it violates article 14 of the Convention in conjunction with article 8 (the non-discrimination provision in combination with the right to private/family life).

Our research team has taken a keen interest in this case. We – in the form of the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University – have submitted a third party intervention to the Court in this case. Our submission focused on the issue of gender stereotyping and how that is addressed by other instruments of international law. We were expressly asked by the President of the Court not to address the facts or the merits of the case, so our comments had to be of a quite general nature.

Now some first impressions of the hearing. Continue reading →

2010: year of “profound moral views”?

Alexandra Timmer A B and C v. Ireland, Alekseyev v. Russia, Konstantin Markin v. Russia, LGBT Rights, Margin of Appreciation, Schalk and Kopf v. Austria, Women's Rights

2010 was a turbulent year for the European Court of Human Rights. The Court has been under fire both for usurping too much power and for achieving too little. The first type of critique is made by conservatives who recycle the old idea that an international court has no legitimacy to judge the situation on the ground in individual states; this year vocally proclaimed in for, for example, the Netherlands (in Dutch) and Russia. The second type of critique – that the Court is doing too little – refers primarily to the huge backlog in cases. The Court is not managing its workload; therefore we saw such initiatives as the Interlaken Conference.[1]  

 To my mind, the year was characterized by an intense debate about the legal relevance/importance of an individual society’s moral values.  The abortion case of A, B and C v. Ireland is the most recent of a series of high-profile cases, all delivered in 2010 and all essentially revolving around the question to what extent the Strasbourg Court should take national morality into account when determining whether human rights violations have taken place in a certain state.  Apart from the abortion case, I’m thinking here of cases concerning sexual orientation (Schalk and Kopf v. Austria and Alekseyev v. Russia) and sex discrimination (Konstantin Markin v. Russia). What follows is a brief review and a critique of A, B and C v. Ireland. Continue reading →

Konstantin Markin: One more applause to the Court. This time from a perspective of religious minority rights

Saïla Ouald Chaib Freedom of Religion, Konstantin Markin v. Russia, Minority Rights

The case Konstantin Markin v. Russia was already discussed in a previous post written by my colleague Alexandra who, from a gender perspective, found it a very interesting case, worth applauding on several points.

I want to add an additional point from the perspective of religious minority rights. When reading the case I was surprised by the irony of the following statement made by the Court in paragraph 58: Continue reading →

“The special social role of women”: the Strasbourg Court does not buy it (Konstantin Markin v. Russia)

Alexandra Timmer Justifications, Konstantin Markin v. Russia, Prohibition of Discrimination, Stereotypes, Uncategorized, Women's Rights

Last week, the Court delivered what might well turn out to be a landmark judgment on the issue of sex discrimination; Konstantin Markin v. Russia. The facts seem simple enough: a military serviceman was not entitled to the same parental leave as a military servicewoman would have had in his case. A classic discrimination case. Yet, on reading the case, it is apparent that a lot is going on that is worth discussing and worth applauding. Here are my first thoughts. Continue reading →