Strasbourg Observers

View posts from: Vainik and Others v. Estonia

  • 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 […]