Strasbourg Observers

View posts from: surveillance systems

  • Martin Scheinin and Sophie Duroy

Kanev v. Bulgaria: How far can the ECtHR sail tied to the mast of proceduralist review of surveillance?

September 25, 2026

By Martin Scheinin and Sophie Duroy The latest judgment on surveillance powers in Bulgaria, identified by the Court as a Key Case, is a puzzling read. The Court is undoubtedly right to find that Bulgaria continues to violate the Convention through its surveillance practices, including in relation to civil society organisations. Yet Kanev is, in […]

  • Strasbourg Observers

Green Alliance v. Bulgaria: Article 8 and the limits to spying on civil society

March 20, 2026

By Dr. Radosveta Vassileva On 17 February 2026, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or the Court) delivered its much-anticipated judgment in Green Alliance v Bulgaria (Application no 6580/22), which concerns the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR or the Convention) in the very sensitive context of national […]