Human Rights

CoE Committee Criticizes UK’s Treatment of Minorities

March 24, 2017

The Advisory Committee of the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, a legally binding international treaty, has released a report criticizing the UK government for failing to fully address discrimination and "hate speech" against national minorities.
ECtHR: Hungary Violated Rights of Asylum Seekers

March 23, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Hungarian authorities violated the rights of two Bangladeshi asylum seekers to liberty and security and against inhuman or degrading treatment by detaining them for approximately three weeks and removing them to Serbia without, according to the ECtHR, a proper individual review of their cases.
UK Opposes Lawsuits Using Rights Law on Police Inaction

March 23, 2017

The Telegraph reports that the UK's Home Office has submitted arguments in an ongoing Supreme Court case asserting that the country's Human Rights Act, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights in domestic law, does not give plaintiffs the right to seek damages from law enforcement authorities for allegedly botched investigations.
ECtHR Prolongs Suspension of Georgia TV Judgment

March 21, 2017

The RFE/RL news service reports that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has prolonged indefinitely its suspension of a judgment by the Georgian Supreme Court permitting the country's government to place an independent news station under the control of an ally of the governing party.
ECtHR: Russia Sent Prisoners Too Far from Families

March 20, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Russia violated the rights of prisoners to respect for family life by incarcerating them in penal facilities ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 kilometers from the residences of their close relations and by refusing their requests to be transferred to closer locations.
Czech Proposal Offers Defense from EU Gun Policy

March 17, 2017

EurActiv reports that the Czech Government is debating a proposed amendment to the country’s constitution that would protect the right to own firearms for security purposes, in response to an EU Firearms Directive that aims to restrict gun ownership and coordinate gun policy across the bloc.
ECtHR Suspends Georgian Court's Media Decision

March 15, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has demanded the suspension of a judgment of the Georgian Supreme Court permitting a change in ownership of a television station until the ECtHR has an opportunity to hear a case on whether the change would violate European human rights provisions on freedom of expression.
CoE Promotes "Social Rights" Enforcement

March 14, 2017

The Council of Europe (CoE) recently hosted a meeting of legal practitioners and academics in Cyprus to discuss encouraging Europeans to use domestic and international courts to enforce their "social rights," including rights to "employment, housing, health, education, social protection and welfare."
CoE, EU Draft Migrant Detention Standards

March 14, 2017

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has announced its participation in an effort, led by committees of the Council of Europe (CoE), to establish a set of European Immigration Detention Rules setting standards for the holding of migrants across CoE countries.
UK Confirms Delay of Bill of Rights Proposal

March 02, 2017

UK Justice Secretary Liz Truss has confirmed that the UK government will delay consideration of a British Bill of Rights proposal, which would seek to limit the influence of the European Court of Human Rights over British laws and courts, until after the country completes its exit from the EU.