Forced Interventions A measure which is a therapeutic necessity from the point of view of established principles of medicine cannot, in principle, be regarded as inhuman and degrading. The Court must, nevertheless, satisfy itself that a medical necessity has been convincingly shown to exist and that procedural guarantees for the decision exist and are complied with (Jalloh v. Germany ). Force-feeding that is aimed at […]
State Responsibility A Contracting State will be responsible under the Convention for violations of human rights caused by acts of its agents carried out in the performance of their duties. The Court has held that where the behaviour of a State agent is unlawful, the question of whether the impugned acts can be imputed to the State requires an assessment of the totality of the […]
The Standards of the investigation In S.M. v. Croatia, the Court summarised its case-law on the procedural obligation under the converging principles of Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention. It noted, in particular, that whereas the general scope of the State’s positive obligations might differ between cases where the treatment contrary to the Convention has been inflicted through the involvement of State agents […]
Interpretation of Article 3 The Court’s approach to the interpretation of Article 3 must be guided by the fact that the object and purpose of the Convention as an instrument for the protection of individual human beings require that its provisions be interpreted and applied so as to make its safeguards practical and effective. Article 3 of the Convention enshrines one of the most fundamental […]
Medical Care Failure In Glass v UK a mother of a severely mentally and physically disabled child wished that he be refused morphine and diamorphine to relieve pain in circumstances of terminal respiratory failure. The decision to interfered with the child’s private life and physical integrity was not necessary as the authorities could have taken steps earlier to apply to court, for consent to administer […]
Katyń massacre during World War II Janowiec and Others v. Russia concerned complaints by relatives of victims of the 1940 Katyń massacre – the killing of several thousands of Polish prisoners of war by the Soviet secret police (NKVD) – that the Russian authorities’ investigation into the massacre had been inadequate. The applicants complained that the Russian authorities had not carried out an effective investigation […]
Duty to Deter Unlawful Killing States must put in place arrangements to deter unlawful killing. In Kilic v Turkey the applicant’s siblings had disappeared and it was alleged that members of the security forces had been involved or were complicit. The European Court held that civilians associated with Kurdish separatism had been subject to serious attacks and threats including possibly from members of the security […]
Article 2 Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally. save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty. is provided by law. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which […]
No Right to Euthanasia Pretty v UK confirmed that is no right to end one’s life prematurely. The applicant wished to permit to assist her husband in ending her life without the risk of prosecution for aiding and abetting suicide. The applicant was concerned her husband might be subject to prosecution for assisting her suicide. The applicant claimed she was prevented by law from exercising […]
Uncertain Law A., B. and C. v. Ireland (application no. 25579/05) 2010 (Grand Chamber) The Court found that Ireland had failed to implement the constitutional right to a legal abortion. There had therefore been a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the Convention concerning the applicant in remission from cancer (the Court held there had been no violation […]
ECHR & Convention The Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings adopted in 2005 has been ratified by more than 40 countries. The state must implement measures against human trafficking.There is a duty for states to investigate human trafficking and to cooperate internationally for such purposes. This is reinforced by the modern Convention. In Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia, it was […]
ECHR Guarantee Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides that No one shall be held in slavery or servitude No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. For the purpose of the article, the term forced or compulsory labour shall not include. any work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention imposed in accordance with the […]