Human Rights

ECtHR Issues Advisory Opinion on Surrogacy Arrangements

April 10, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has issued its first-ever advisory opinion under a mechanism recently extending the ECtHR’s jurisdiction, finding European human rights law requires governments to create a path for recognition of a parent-child relationship between the intended mother of the child in a surrogacy arrangement carried out abroad.
CoE Official Criticizes Poland on Judiciary, Abortion Law

April 04, 2019

Following a recent visit to Poland, the Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović has warned the Polish government that it risks violating European human rights law by failing to respect the independence of the judiciary and by weakening women’s “reproductive rights,” including access to abortion.
CoE Official: Conscience Rights Are “Barriers” to Reproductive Choice

March 13, 2019

Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović has called on governments to respect “sexual and reproductive health rights” to ensure women have access to services including abortions, citing as a “serious barrier” to women’s rights the refusal by doctors to provide abortions on conscience grounds.
ECtHR Calls for Review of Life Sentences in Ukraine

March 12, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has called on the Ukrainian government to review every case in which the country’s courts have sentenced convicted criminals to life imprisonment to determine whether the detention is justified and inform prisoners the conditions under which they may be granted release.
ECtHR: Icelandic Leaders Violated Rights with Judicial Appointments

March 12, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the appointment by the Icelandic Prime Minister and Parliament of four judges of the country’s High Court against the advice of an evaluation committee was a “flagrant breach of the applicable rules” and violated the rights of an applicant whose case was pending before that Court.
UK Official Raises ECHR as Obstacle to Brexit “Backstop”

March 08, 2019

The Guardian reports that, in recent talks with EU negotiators, UK Attorney General Geoffrey Cox argued that the Irish border “backstop” contingency measure in the UK-EU withdrawal deal could violate the rights, under the European Convention on Human Rights, of the Northern Irish people to democratic representation in EU institutions.
UK Offers Vote on Alignment with EU Labor Standards

March 07, 2019

The BBC reports that the UK government has indicated it will give the country’s Parliament the opportunity to vote on legislation that would keep Britain tied to EU labor standards after Brexit.
UK Court: “Right to Rent” Law Violates ECHR

March 07, 2019

The UK High Court has declared that a UK law requiring landlords to confirm the lawfulness of prospective tenants’ presence in Britain is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, and national origin.
ECtHR: French Failure to Provide Care Violated Migrant Child’s Rights

March 06, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the failure of French authorities to care for a 12-year-old Afghan national who lived unlawfully in a migrant camp in Calais for six months amounted to “inhuman or degrading treatment” in violation of European human rights law.
ECtHR: UK Counter-terror Legislation Violated Rights

March 06, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that UK counter-terrorism legislation - amended in 2014 - giving authorities the power to stop and question passengers arriving at ports of entry without any suspicion of involvement in terrorism had not been sufficiently circumscribed and did not contain enough legal safeguards against its abuse.