Human Rights

UK Groups Criticize Plans to Drop EU Charter

January 17, 2018

The UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission and a group of nongovernmental organizations have published a letter warning that, under current British government plans following Brexit, UK citizens will no longer be able to challenge British laws they say fail to adhere to EU-based human rights provisions.
ECtHR: Surveillance Violated Supermarket Employees' Rights

January 10, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the secret filming of supermarket employees after the store manager had noticed differences between stock levels and the amount sold was a violation of the employees' right to privacy, disagreeing with the decision of Spanish courts on the proportionality of the move to implement private surveillance.
ECtHR Sides with NGO on Basis of "Racism" Accusation

January 10, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the Swiss government violated the right to free expression by penalizing a nongovernmental organization for classifying as "verbal racism" a politician's support of a Swiss minaret ban after reviewing statements from various international bodies classifying the minaret ban as "discriminatory, xenophobic or racist."
ECtHR Halts Sweden's Expulsion of Suspected Terror Coordinator

January 10, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the Swedish government would violate the right of a Moroccan national against torture by deporting him to Morocco after the Swedish Security Service designated him a terror threat.
EC Proposes New EU-wide Working Standards

January 10, 2018

As part of its efforts toward a European Pillar of Social Rights, the European Commission (EC) has proposed a directive mandating "more transparent and predictable working conditions across the EU" by requiring more corporate disclosures to employees on working conditions and new minimum standards for workers, including those working under "atypical contracts."
CoE Official: Gender Pay Gap is Rights Violation

January 08, 2018

The Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks labeled as a "human rights violation" the failure of CoE member states to implement international standards eliminating discrimination against women on the basis of pay, calling for governments to adopt "political, cultural and economic measures" to end the gender pay gap.
ECJ Finds Limitation in Right to Expel Convicted Criminals

January 08, 2018

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) held in a December decision that EU member states cannot expel a long-term resident who is a national of a country that is not an EU member on the sole basis that the resident has been sentenced to over a year of imprisonment.
CoE Issues Negative Findings on Polish, Ukrainian Reforms

January 08, 2018

In December, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Commission for Democracy through Law adopted a series of opinions concluding that Polish judicial reforms place "at serious risk" the independence of all Polish courts, that Poland should separate its Public Prosecutor General from its Ministry of Justice, and that Ukraine should ramp up teaching of minority languages.
ECtHR Receives Case on Azerbaijan's Compliance with Judgment

January 08, 2018

News.am reports that the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has, for the first time, referred to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) a question whether a country has refused to abide by a ECtHR judgment in the case of an imprisoned opposition politician in Azerbaijan.
ECtHR: Countries Must Recognize Gay Marriages Contracted Abroad

January 08, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Italy violated the rights of same-sex couples to respect for private and family life by failing "to take account of their social reality" in refusing to recognize marriages they had contracted abroad.