April 16, 2024
By dr. Mathieu Leloup It is no secret that the protection of the independence of domestic judges has been high on the judicial agenda of the supranational courts in the recent past. Over the course of the last few years, issues related to judicial independence have been at the forefront of the case law of […]
April 12, 2024
Read moreApril 02, 2024
Eva Brems ‘Stop internationalization now!’ I am shouting at my laptop screen, laughing. This is banter of course. The Strasbourg Club just realized that we are having a meeting with Dutch speakers only – four in the room in Ghent, plus three online. The joke is that this will be the new normal after the […]
March 29, 2024
Dear readers, In February, we presented you with this year’s edition of our annual Strasbourg Observers Best & Worst Poll, in which we asked you to vote for your preferred candidates as shortlisted for the categories of Best Judgment of 2023, Worst Judgment of 2023, and Best Separate Opinion of 2023. We would like to […]
March 26, 2024
Nozizwe Dube After the 2022 landmark rulings Basu v Germany and Muhammad v Spain, the ECtHR has handled another racial profiling case. In Wa Baile v Switzerland, the ECtHR unanimously held that there was a procedural and substantive violation of the prohibition of discrimination (Article 14) in conjunction with the right to respect for private […]
March 22, 2024
Dr. Alice Dejean de la Bâtie French criminal law forbids anyone to disclose or even publicly mention the name of the victim of sexual assault without their express written permission. Anyone. Ever. Even the defendants themselves. Even before any trial has taken place. Even if the victim’s name has previously been disclosed countless times. Can […]
Strasbourg Observers is an academic blog that discusses recent developments at the European Court of Human Rights. The editorial team of Strasbourg Observers is based at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University and the Centre for Government and Law of Hasselt University.
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March 19, 2024
By Vladislava Stoyanova Krachunova v. Bulgaria is the first judgment where the ECtHR addressed the question of compensation for victims of human trafficking as a positive obligation held by States under Article 4 of the Convention. As the Court noted at para 161, in this case, the Court is ‘for the first time confronted with […]
March 15, 2024
By Ezgi Özlü At the Opening of the Judicial Year 2024 on 26 January, ECtHR President O’Leary emphasised her concerns about the criticism and disregarding of interim measures of certain member states. She also underlined the ongoing work for further transparency. In this respect, on 26 June and 6 November 2023, the Plenary Court adopted […]
March 12, 2024
By Eszter BENKŐ, Tamás FAZEKAS and Zsolt SZEKERES In December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights rejected two requests for interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court (hereinafter: interim measures or Rule 39) in the case of a Russian dissident, who is to be returned to the Russian Federation by Hungary. […]
March 08, 2024
by Anca Ailincai On 24th January 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) resolved not to ratify the credentials of Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation. Consequently, the Azerbaijani delegation has been suspended from participating in PACE until further notice. The decision was based on substantive grounds, including the use of military force in Nagorno-Karabakh, […]
March 05, 2024
By Dr Juan Ruiz Ramos Introduction W.A. and Others v. Italy concerns the procedures that States ought to follow to avoid violating the principle of non-refoulement under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention). While procedural matters often do not create as much hype among academics as questions of substance—such as the […]
March 01, 2024
By Dr Donatas Murauskas Should anyone be left to the mercy of trial by media? ‘Never ever. Under no circumstances,’ underlines judge Kūris in his elaborated dissenting opinion in Mesić v. Croatia (no. 2), criticising the Chamber reasoning that sets ‘a very low standard for the protection of personality rights’. The case-law develops, and new contexts […]
February 27, 2024
By Dr Dimitrios Kagiaros In O.G. and others v. Greece, the Third Section of the ECtHR delivered a compelling judgment vindicating the rights of sex workers living with HIV in Greece who had been subjected to unprecedented public shaming and vilification by Greek authorities. While the judgment unequivocally denounced the actions of the Greek authorities, […]
February 23, 2024
By Dr Sarah Trotter On 16 November 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (‘the ECtHR’) handed down its judgment in G.T.B. v Spain. It is a judgment that constitutes a significant moment in the development of the right to respect for private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘the […]
February 20, 2024
By Dr. Türkan Ertuna Lagrand Introduction Fifteen years after Opuz v. Turkey, Türkiye is once more the source for a groundbreaking judgment of a European court focusing on domestic violence. In its judgment of 16 January 2024 in WS (C-621/21), the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has established some long-awaited crucial interpretations to […]
February 16, 2024
Dear readers, With the holiday season now well behind us, we are taking the opportunity to look back and reflect on 2023. After the turbulent year that was 2022, 2023 did not exactly turn out to be less challenging in terms of the human rights related issues that have arisen – and continue to arise. […]