Human Rights

ECtHR: Strict Detainment Measures Violated Convention

April 19, 2016

A judgment from the European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has found that Poland's detainment of a convicted murderer under a "dangerous detainee regime" that required constant monitoring of his cell and strip searches upon his entry and exit violated the European Convention on Human Rights' prohibition of "torture" and "degrading treatment."
FRA Lists Human Rights Criteria for "Safe Countries" List

April 13, 2016

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA") has published a list of rights that the EU and its member states must consider, including the right to an "effective remedy" and the right to "non-discrimination," in creating a list of "safe countries" to which they can return asylum seekers.
ECtHR Finds Hungarian Investigation of Racist Insults Insufficient

April 12, 2016

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has held that the Hungarian government violated a woman's right to private and family life by failing to adequately consider certain factors when deciding whether to pursue criminal charges against members of a right-wing organization who engaged in "racially motivated abuse" by insulting and threatening her.
CoE Produces Internet Governance Strategy

April 06, 2016

The Council of Europe ("CoE") Committee of Ministers has adopted an "Internet Governance Strategy for 2016-2019," which pressures countries to protect human rights and the rule of law online in part by addressing concerns on mass surveillance and providing for the development of standards for internet "intermediaries" on freedom of expression.
ECtHR Finds No Infringement in "Violation of Secrecy" Case

April 04, 2016

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has held that Switzerland complied with the European Convention on Human Rights when the country's courts imposed a criminal fine on a journalist for "violation of secrecy" after he published a news story on a defendant on trial for murder.
ECtHR Finds "Systemic" Problem on Pre-trial Detention in Russia

March 31, 2016

Finding that Russia's practice of keeping a defendant in custody without sufficient reasons has been "the subject of recurrent and numerous complaints," the European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") called on the country in a recent case to continue efforts to solve problems with pre-trial detention, including by implementing relevant recommendations from the Council of Europe.
FRA Hosts Meeting on Border Control Rights Violations

March 31, 2016

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA") recently hosted a meeting with representatives from the EU, UN, border control agencies, and academia to discuss how countries must avoid human rights violations in working with countries outside the EU to implement border control measures.
Neighbors Invoke ECHR Right in Treehouse Dispute

March 30, 2016

The Independent reports that neighbors of British film director Jasmine Dellal are complaining that a treehouse she built on her property violates their right to "private and family life" under the UK Human Rights Act, which gives domestic legal effect to the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR").
CoE Body Expresses Constitutional Court Concerns

March 30, 2016

The Council of Europe ("CoE") body of constitutional experts, the Venice Commission, has expressed concern at what it perceives to be "undue interference" in the work of constitutional courts in Europe, including Polish legislation amending the composition and procedures of the country's Constitutional Tribunal.
New FRA Director Seeks Expanded Impact

March 28, 2016

The new Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA"), Michael O'Flaherty, has announced his plans to expand the impact of the FRA by increasing work on police and criminal justice matters, issuing periodic guidance on migration and fundamental rights, and working with national human rights institutions on human rights standards in EU member states.