Human Rights

UK Court: Detention of Reporter Violated ECHR

January 20, 2016

The Court of Appeals of England and Wales has held that the application of a UK law to provide for the detention and questioning of a reporter holding information from Edward Snowden by UK law enforcement officers violated a provision of the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR") relating to freedom of the press.
NGO: ECtHR Strengthens Rights of Criminal Suspects

January 13, 2016

Jennifer Babaie of the Open Society Justice Initiative writes that in three recent cases, the European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has expanded its recognition of rights of criminal suspects, including the rights to access and to communicate freely with one's lawyer and the right against the use of confessions elicited through "inhuman or degrading treatment."
CoE Seeks Review of Polish Media Law

January 13, 2016

In a recent letter, Council of Europe ("CoE") Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has invited Poland to submit controversial legislation granting Polish officials more authority over the composition of public broadcasting heads to the CoE for assessment prior to the signing of the legislation.
ECtHR: Hungarian Surveillance Law Violates Rights

January 13, 2016

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has held that a Hungarian law authorizing officials to engage in surveillance of suspected terrorists violates the right to privacy because it permits officials to "intercept masses of data" without requiring them to demonstrate that the subject of their surveillance has any links to terrorism.
ECtHR Stays Ireland's Deportation of Suspected IS Affiliate

January 04, 2016

The Irish Times reports that the European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has issued a temporary order staying the Irish Government's deportation of a man officials allege has acted on behalf of the Islamic State to arrange travel for extremists seeking to take violent action, due to the suspect's fear that he would be tortured if deported.
UK Minister: ECHR-Based Lawsuits Impair Military Effectiveness

December 30, 2015

Signaling that an upcoming proposal for a British Bill of Rights will effectively override the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR") in the case of soldiers engaged in armed conflict, UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has criticized the ECHR-based UK Human Rights Act for encouraging human-rights lawsuits and impairing the effectiveness of the British Armed Forces.
UK Bill of Rights May Ease Deportation of Terror Suspects

December 29, 2015

According to The Daily Mail, British Government officials report that the proposed UK Bill of Rights legislation will permit the Government to deport terror suspects prior to the European Court of Human Rights' hearing of their appeal and will shield members of the British Armed Forces from human-rights lawsuits.
Officials Voice Concerns with Ukraine "Decommunisation" Law

December 22, 2015

Officials from the Venice Commission and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe ("OSCE") are seeking the revision of a "decommunisation" law in Ukraine that bans Communist and Nazi propaganda to limit the law's scope and address their concerns with the law's effects on freedom of expression and association.
FRA Trains Portuguese Police in Fundamental Rights

December 22, 2015

Spotlighting concerns regarding potential interference of multinational institutions with the ability of law-enforcement officers to effectively protect citizens, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA") recently trained Portuguese police officers in nondiscrimination and "mainstreaming fundamental rights" in their work.
Critics: Russian ECtHR Law Violates Constitution

December 21, 2015

Critics of recent legislation empowering the Russian Constitutional Court to determine whether a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") will take effect argue that the law may lead to the country's departure from the 47-member-state Council of Europe and may violate the country's own constitution.