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French Roma policy violates European Social Charter
In a decision of 28 June (COHRE v. France, no. 63/2010), which was only recently made public, the European Committee of Social Rights has found the French zero tolerance policy towards East European...
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Strasbourg Court condemns Belgian internment policy
On 6 December 2011, the European Court of Human Rights found the Belgian internment policy to be in breach of the ECHR. The case of De Donder and De Clippel v. Belgium concerned Tom De Clippel, a...
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Less stringent measures and migration detention: overruling Saadi v. UK?
The recent cases of Yoh-Ekale Mwanje v. Belgium and Popov v. France illustrate how a ‘less stringent measures test’ is entering the Court’s reasoning under Art. 5 § 1 ECHR in migration detention cases....
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No Access to Court: on Prison Leave, Social Reintegration and Legal Formalism
In the recent judgment of Boulois v. Luxembourg, the Grand Chamber denied a prisoner his right of access to court (Art. 6, § 1 ECHR) in a case concerning the refusal to grant him prison leave. The...
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Is the Strasbourg Court tough on migration?
One of the reasons why critics continue to attack the Strasbourg Court is its alleged judicial activism in the field of migration. The recent case of Shala v. Switzerland illustrates that the...
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Procedural Justice in Human Rights Adjudication: The European Court of Human...
In the context of the project “Strengthening the European Court of Human Rights: More Accountability through Better Legal Reasoning”, Eva Brems and I have written an article in which we explore the...
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Söderman v. Sweden: third party intervention of our Human Rights Centre
We were in Strasbourg yesterday to attend the Grand Chamber hearing in the case of Söderman v. Sweden. In this case, formerly known as E.S. v. Sweden, the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University has...
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The Court could provide more guidance in prisoner cases
When systematically reading the Court’s case-law, it becomes clear that poor conditions of detention remain one of the most dramatic human rights problems in contemporary Europe. The last decade, the...
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Transforming the right to property
Reading Strasbourg case-law on a systematic basis, I always feel uncomfortable when I see the Court’s expansive protection in the field of Article 1 Protocol 1. Basically, that is because I don’t...
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Failure to protect minor against stepfather filming her naked violates...
On 12 November, the Grand Chamber issued its judgment in the case of Söderman v. Sweden (formerly known as E.S. v. Sweden), finding that Sweden had failed to comply with its positive obligation to...
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New publication: Shaping Rights in the ECHR
We are happy to announce the publication of the book “Shaping Rights in the ECHR – The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in Determining the Scope of Human Rights”, edited by Eva Brems and...
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Shitting in ‘closed’ overall not ‘degrading’ according to Strasbourg Court
If you look up the word ‘degrading’ in the dictionary, chances are that you find a picture there of a person who cannot help shitting him- or herself. In the case of Lindström and Mässeli v. Finland,...
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Strasbourg Court fails to adequately protect trade union freedom: secondary...
According to the Strasbourg Court’s established case law, the right to strike action is protected by Article 11 ECHR (e.g. Enerji Yapi-Yol Sen v. Turkey), which more generally protects the right of...
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Education in prison: right to education only protects access in case of...
In Velyo Velev v. Bulgaria, the Court found a violation of the right to education (Article 2 Protocol 1) in a case concerning the refusal to allow a prisoner to enrol in a secondary school operating...
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Belgium violated the ECHR by extraditing a terrorist to the USA despite an...
The Trabelsi case is noteworthy for two reasons. Firstly, because of the blatant disregard by Belgium of the interim measure issued by the European Court of Human Rights. Secondly, because of the...
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New publication: Less Restrictive Means & the Strasbourg Court
First of all, a Happy New Year to you all, dear readers! As far as we are concerned, 2015 couldn’t have started better. We’re proud to announce the publication of the article “‘Don’t use a Sledgehammer...
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Dubská and Krejzová v. Czech Republic: a ‘negative’ or ‘positive’ right to...
In the case of Dubská and Krejzová v. Czech Republic, the Strasbourg Court had to pronounce itself on the regulation of home birth under Czech law. While on the one hand Czech law allowed for home...
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New publication: Poverty and the ECHR
I’m happy to announce the publication of my article “Strengthening the Protection of Human Rights of Persons Living in Poverty under the ECHR” in the September edition of Netherlands Quarterly of Human...
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Don’t open the floodgates: fines and Article 1 Protocol 1
In the recent case of Konstantin Stefanov, the Strasbourg Court examined the acceptability of a fine (the equivalent of EUR 260) imposed on a lawyer, appointed ex officio by a domestic court, for...
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Strasbourg Court fails to acknowledge discrimination and stigmatization of...
In the recent case of Garib v. the Netherlands, the Court considered that a policy imposing minimum income conditions on persons wishing to settle in a number of inner-city areas of the city of...
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