Strasbourg Observers

View posts from: Impartiality

  • Charlotte Teuwens

Kaya v. Belgium: a reminder of the importance of a well-functioning judiciary  

May 15, 2026

by Charlotte Teuwens When it comes to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) already has an extensive list of case law. Yet, at the beginning of 2026, the Court was once again asked to rule on a case in which there had been […]

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  • Dimitrios Kagiaros

Backović v. Serbia (no. 2): Blurring the line between legitimate criticism and unacceptable insults by lawyers in court proceedings

September 19, 2025

By Dimitrios Kagiaros In Backović v. Serbia (no. 2), the European Court of Human Rights’ third section (henceforth ECtHR or the Court) revisited the thorny issue of lawyers making inappropriate or caustic remarks towards judges in court proceedings. In a 5-2 judgment, the Court found that a fine for contempt of court against a lawyer […]

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  • Lidia Carchilan

Tadić v. Croatia – does discussing an ongoing case with a third party amount to a breach of impartiality under Article 6 § 1?

January 30, 2024

by Lidia Carchilan The impartiality of judges has been addressed by the Court on numerous occasions (see examples here, here, and here), providing the Court with the opportunity to develop a consistent line of case-law on the issue, from both its subjective and objective perspectives. In Tadić v. Croatia the Court ruled on the impartiality […]

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