Clearer rules for selecting national minority MPs
The European Court of Human Rights found that Romania’s election authorities had overlooked a representative of the Italian minority for a seat in parliament even though nationwide he was the community’s favourite. The judgment prompted Romania to bring in clearer rules about how parliamentary seats should be allocated to winning organisations representing national minorities.
Romania
Wider availability of drug substitution therapy in prisons
The European court ruled that the German authorities violated the human rights convention by refusing to give drug substitution therapy to a prisoner suffering from long-term addiction, even though there was a strong indication it was the treatment he needed. Germany responded by making such therapy more available in prisons.
Germany
Protections against the arbitrary exclusion of voters in elections
The European Court of Human Rights found that Georgia breached a political party’s right to stand for election by disenfranchising 60,000 voters it might have relied upon for support. The court’s judgment in the Georgian Labour Party’s case led Georgia to change its election law, setting out clear criteria which must be met for the electoral authorities to annul results.
Georgia
An election candidate’s unfair disqualification leads to new rules on property declarations
Election authorities prevented Gagik Sarukhanyan from standing for parliament because he had failed to declare property he owned. The European court found that this had violated Gagik’s electoral rights, because he had had good reason to believe his declaration was correct. Armenia responded by removing the requirement for election candidates to declare such information before registration.
Armenia
End to voting ban for certain types of prisoners
A jailed businessman complained that Turkey’s ban on prisoners voting breached his electoral rights. The European court agreed with Ahmet Söyler, finding that the restriction violated the human rights convention because it was applied in an “automatic and indiscriminate” way. This judgment led Turkey to lift the voting ban for certain types of prisoners.
Türkiye
Turkish Cypriots win the right to vote
The European Court of Human Rights found that Cyprus had prevented Ibrahim Aziz from voting and discriminated against him simply because he was Turkish Cypriot. The court ruled that Cyprus would have to make legal changes to secure Ibrahim’s right to vote, which it did in 2006, giving all Turkish Cypriots the right to vote and to stand in elections.
Cyprus
End to automatic voting ban for people placed under guardianship
At first, Alajos Kiss did not realise that the situation he was in because of his mental health difficulties meant he had lost the right to vote. The European Court of Human Rights later ruled that Hungary’s blanket voting ban for people placed under partial guardianship was unfair. The Hungarian government responded to the judgment by ending the automatic ban.
Hungary
Criminal convictions for urging Israel goods boycott cancelled
Eleven people were convicted for calling for a boycott of Israeli goods in solidarity with Palestine. According to the European court, the French courts had not established why these criminal convictions were “necessary in a democratic society”. The European court’s judgment led to the cancellation of the protestors’ convictions and greater freedom to support boycotts for political reasons.
France
A second chance at justice for Saur Vallnet enterprise denied a fair trial
Saur Vallnet’s lawyer discovered a conflict of interest concerning a judge who decided on the company’s case. The European court ruled that the company was justifiably concerned about the judge’s impartiality. Andorra responded by bringing in new laws allowing national court decisions or judgments to be revised following a Strasbourg ruling finding a violation of the ECHR.
Andorra
New law protects anti-corruption prosecutors from political interference
The European court found that Romania’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor had had no way to legally challenge her dismissal. Also, the government’s decision to dismiss her had violated her free speech because it was mostly in response to her public criticism of controversial legal reforms. Romania then changed the law to protect prosecutors from abusive removal from office.
Woman wins legal fight to get her apartment back
The Azerbaijani courts backed the eviction of a family of internally displaced persons who were squatting Valentina Akimova’s apartment, but postponed any action being taken. The European Court of Human Rights found this to be unlawful and in breach of Valentina’s right to property. Thanks to the European court’s judgment, Valentina was able to get her apartment back.
Azerbaijan
Free speech ruling leads to checks on Liechtenstein prince’s power
Liechtenstein’s prince said he would bar Herbert Wille from holding public office because of opinions the legal expert had expressed. The European court ruled that this violated Dr Wille’s free speech. Liechtenstein responded by making sure that individuals can make complaints in their own country about alleged violations of the ECHR, including against the prince himself.
Liechtenstein
Justice for the families of victims of war crimes and disappearances from the conflict in Croatia
Josipa Skendžić waited decades for answers about what happened to her husband. The European court ruled that Croatia failed to properly investigate his disappearance in police custody during the “Homeland War” in 1991. Since the judgment, Croatia has taken steps to ensure that all allegations of war crimes are properly investigated and has intensified the search for missing persons.
Croatia
Greater protection of privacy after a civil servant was spied on to pass NATO security clearance
Gracinda Maria Antunes Rocha would never have started her new job had she known that she would be placed under surveillance to get security clearance. The European Court of Human Rights found that the Portuguese authorities had breached her right to privacy. Portugal responded to the judgment by bringing in a new law allowing victims to get justice more easily in such circumstances.
Portugal
Strict rules on the storage and use of communist-era Securitate files
The Romanian government breached Aurel Rotaru’s right to privacy by revealing false and damaging information about him based on an old communist-era secret police file. The European Court of Human Rights found that the law in Romania lacked safeguards against abuses with regard to the storage and use of such records, prompting the government to more strictly regulate access to them.
Mother wins legal fight to get her children back
Liliana loved her children but struggled to raise them alone. A Portuguese judge, however, thought she was a bad mother, ordering that her youngest children be taken away from her. The European court said that decision breached Liliana’s rights, and the authorities should have tried to keep the family together. Its judgment led to Liliana being reunited with her children.
Maternity benefits for all mothers, regardless of nationality
A young family was unable to get maternity benefits because the mother was not Hungarian, even though her husband and twin boys had been born in Hungary. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that this was discrimination. Hungary then changed the law to cover every mother legally residing in the country, regardless of their nationality.
Vulnerable victims of domestic violence gain exemption from “bedroom tax”
A woman at severe risk of domestic violence faced eviction from her specially-adapted home because cuts to housing benefits meant she could no longer afford the rent. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the woman was discriminated against because of her gender. The UK then changed the law to exempt women like her from changes to the benefit rules.
United Kingdom
A father’s fight for justice leads to better police oversight
Maigonis Emars had serious concerns about the police investigation into his daughter’s death. The European Court of Human Rights agreed, ruling that the murder probe was neither appropriate nor independent. In response to the court’s judgment, Latvia took steps to improve the independence of investigations to try to stop the same thing from ever happening again.
Latvia
Tens of thousands of people compensated over World War II property claims
Jerzy Broniowski waited over 60 years to be compensated for the property his grandmother was forced to abandon at the end of the Second World War. Justice was finally delivered when a European court judgment led Poland to properly compensate Jerzy and many others like him. It was the first time the court used a special procedure designed to deal with widespread and systemic problems.
Poland
Better licensing procedure for TV stations
Independent TV channel A1+ was taken off the air after a regulator denied its parent company’s bid for a broadcasting licence. The European court ruled that Armenia had breached the company’s freedom of expression because the regulator gave no reasons for its decisions. Armenia then changed the law to bring the licensing procedure into line with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Protection against the abuse of secret surveillance in insurance disputes
Savjeta Vukota-Bojić felt violated when she learned that her insurance company had had her secretly followed during a dispute over accident cover. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Savjeta’s privacy had been breached because Swiss law lacked safeguards against abuse, prompting Switzerland to bring in stricter rules on the use of secret surveillance by insurance companies.
Switzerland
Constitution changed after ex-president was banned for life from standing for parliament
Former president Rolandas Paksas was barred from running for parliament after the law was changed to stop any official who had been removed from office from standing in elections. The European court ruled that this lifelong ban violated Paksas’s rights. Lithuania responded to the European court’s judgment by changing the constitution to make the ban temporary.
Lithuania
Children’s court case brings an end to discriminatory Roma-only classes
Fourteen Roma children said their schools had racially discriminated against them. The Croatian courts disagreed, so the children brought their case to the European court, which ruled that their placement in Roma-only classes had violated their human rights. Croatia then took steps to end discrimination against Roma children in primary education, including by abolishing segregated classes.
Fair compensation for victims of infected blood scandal
The European court ruled that Italy’s decision to stop victims from receiving inflation-adjusted compensation breached their human rights. Many relied on the payments to cover ongoing medical costs. The court’s ‘pilot judgment’ found that many others had potentially been affected by the decision, resulting in Italy making back payments totalling hundreds of millions of euros to victims.
Italy