This case is a class action against the Quebec government aimed at obtaining a reimbursement for voluntary terminations of pregnancy services obtained in private clinics. After the 1988 landmark case of R v Morgentaler found a right to elective abortion, the Ministry of Health had been slow in developing ministerial guidance on family planning. At …Read more

The Cincinnati Health Department (CHD) refused a request from a reporter from the Cincinnati Enquirer (the Enquirer) for “copies of the 343 lead citations and any others that were issued between 1994 and the present.” The lead citations were lead-contamination notices issued to owners of units reported to be the residences of children whose blood …Read more

This report addresses the admissibility of a petition that alleged Canada failed to fulfill its obligations under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (the Declaration), including protection of the right to life, the right of special protection of women during pregnancy and the freedom of expression and dissemination of ideas. Anti-abortion …Read more

Damião Ximenes-Lopes, a person with mental illness, was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment at a private psychiatric clinic that operated within Brazil’s public health system. Ximenes-Lopes died three days following hospitalization while undergoing psychiatric treatment. He endured “inhuman and degrading” conditions and died under violent circumstances in the hands of hospital staff. Ximenes-Lopes’ sister filed a …Read more

The Sawhoyamaxa, an indigenous community in Paraguay brought the case against the Paraguayan government for failing to ensure their ancestral property right.  The Sawhoyamaxa’s claim for territorial rights had been pending since 1991.  The lands at issue constituted their traditional habitat suitable for their subsistence activities, consisting of hunting, fishing, and gathering. The lands claimed …Read more

Falcon María Liliana filed anguarantee of protection of individual constitutional rights (amparo protection) against a hospital in Argentina for refusing to perform a sterilization procedure during the birth of her seventh child. The plaintiff had requested doctors to perform a ligation of her Fallopian tubes, and/or any other necessary procedure, during a planned caesarean section …Read more

The National Institute of Social Security filed an interlocutory appeal with basis in the Code of Civil Procedure and the bylaws of the Federal Supreme Court against the decision upheld by this same court in September 2005 which stated that the matter in discussion did not directly offend the Constitution and required the re-examination of …Read more

The State of Rio Grande do Sul filed an extraordinary appeal against the decision of the lower court, which found the State was responsible for providing medication free of charge, to an individual with HIV who could no longer afford the medications. The State argued that it was not responsible for the provision of free …Read more

Plaintiff, a 61-year old woman afflicted with colon cancer, filed a counterclaim to her husband’s divorce petition, seeking compensation. The Trial judge had considered compensation for divorce a matter of welfare and had thus provided for a very small amount of reparation damages, taking into consideration only the plaintiff’s immediate needs and the defendant’s economic …Read more

Women petitioners brought a tutela action (appeal for legal protection) requesting that the Court declare unconstitutional particular provisions of the Penal Code (Articles 122 (criminalized abortion), 123 (criminalized abortion without consent), and 124 (mitigating circumstances)) that criminalized abortion, claiming that, first, the doctrine of res judicata did not apply to them with regards to previous decisions …Read more

Petitioner filed a Writ of Amparo to challenge the administrative procedure that instituted a partial ban on cigar and cigarette advertisements pursuant Article 9 of Costa Rica’s Tobacco Regulation Act. Petitioner claimed such a partial ban was constitutionally unacceptable, as only a total ban on advertisement could fulfill the obligation of the State to safeguard …Read more

Petitioner was an inmate in a State prison who filed a Writ of Amparo challenging the administrative regulation that exempted inmates from the prohibition to smoke inside cells and other closed, indoor environments within prisons. In his submission, plaintiff contended the regulation (of infra-legal hierarchy status) was unconstitutional as it forcibly exposed him to tobacco …Read more

The plaintiff, a Costa Rican national, presented an appeal of protection against the Ministry of Justice claiming his right to health had been violated. The plaintiff was deprived from liberty in a local prison which he claimed was overpopulated and in close contact with persons with chronic diseases. The Ministry of Justice argued that it …Read more

In 2001, Peru’s Department of Health approved the emergency oral contraceptive and resolved to provide it at no charge throughout the nation. Following cases of repeated noncompliance with this resolution, plaintiffs initiated this legal action to enforce compliance. Specifically, the petitioners asserted that the mandates whose compliance they were demanding were: (1) To ensure a …Read more

Petitioners filed a Writ of Mandamus action against the Ministry of Health and DIGESA (the General Directorate of Environmental Health) before the Superior Court of Justice of Lima, requesting that the court order Respondents to design and implement a strategy for public health emergencies for the city of La Oroya, pursuant to articles 96, 97, …Read more

During the conflict between armed groups and government forces that lasted from the 1980s until 2000, the government of Alberto Fujimori issued a law decree on April 6, 1992, ordering “the reorganization of the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) and put[ting] the National Police of Peru in charge of the control of security at the penitentiaries.” …Read more

The Petitioner, an elderly woman with diabetes, filed an action of amparo against the I.N.S.S.J.P, a public entity devoted to the provision of public health insurance to retired people. She requested the judiciary to order the Respondent to provide her 100U of human insulin, reactive tape and disposable syringes, as well as the medicine “Ampliactil” …Read more

Petitioners, the alleged victims of violent acts that took place in a region called La Granja, alleged before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that members of law enforcement bodies and paramilitary groups involved in the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia participated in armed raids in which they killed unarmed civilians, robbed others, and caused …Read more

Plaintiff filed a guarantee of protection of individual constitutional rights (amparo protection) against the Province of Buenos Aires and the Federal State  alleging that, due to omissions attributable to both states, her children suffered from malnutrition. She requested that the Court issue a provisional measure ordering the respondents to promptly satisfy the most basic nutritional and …Read more

This case was originally brought before the First Chamber of the Contentious Administrative Tribunal by a group of organizations of the Amazon Basin in Ecuador who were challenging the fact that Colombia was fumigating with glyphosate (within their plan to eradicate coca) within a 10-km strip from the border of Colombia and Ecuador. The organizations …Read more

T and W applied for support pursuant to the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 (‘the Act’). Their applications were denied by the Director of the Program and an internal review confirmed the Director’s decision. The Social Benefits Tribunal (‘the Tribunal’) dismissed the appeals pursuant to s 5(2) of the Act based on its finding …Read more

B was convicted of murder and sentenced to death pursuant to s 3121 of the Penal Code which required the death penalty for any defendant convicted of murder. D was convicted of murder and also sentenced to death. Both B and D petitioned the Privy Council seeking leave to challenge the constitutionality of the mandatory requirement that …Read more

Terry Buffet, a male service member in the Canadian Armed Forces wanted to use his employment benefit for in vitro fertilization (IVF) because of reasons of his infertility. The Canadian Forces (CF) provided insurance for military members, but not for their family members. CF did, however, provide coverage of IVF to female military members. Upon …Read more

The appellants were Mexican citizens who arrived in Canada and made a claim for refugee protection. Before their claim was heard, the male appellant was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure and was immediately put on life-sustaining hemodialysis treatment. The Immigration and Refugee Board (‘Board’) denied their claim for refugee protection. Among other findings, the Board …Read more

The appellants in this case were Robert Tranchemontagne and Norman Werbeski. The duo applied to the director of Ontario Disability support program for support pursuant to Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 25, Sch. B (“ODSPA”).The financial assistance was meant to help people with disabilities cope with their impairments but those unsuccessful …Read more

Section 15 of the Health Insurance Act (HEIA) and s. 11 of the Hospital Insurance Act (HOIA) prohibited Quebec residents from taking out private health insurance for services covered by Quebec’s public health care plan. The two Appellants, Jacques Chaoulli and George Zeliotis, contested the validity of this prohibition.  They alleged that these prohibitions deprived …Read more

This case concerned a challenge to a rule promulgated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to the administrative simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The original privacy rule “required covered entities to seek individual consent to use or disclose health information in all …Read more

The Appellants, Leonel and others, were persons living with HIV. They applied for and were granted offers for flight attendant positions with American Airlines (American). Upon discovery of their HIV-positive status, American rescinded Appellants’ job offers, citing their failure to disclose information during their medical examinations. The Appellants had originally been given conditional offers of …Read more

The Appellant, Douglas, brought suit claiming that the Respondent, Dobbs, an Assistant District Attorney, violated her constitutional right to privacy by approving a police search of her pharmacy records. The search was initiated after a police sergeant learned from Douglas’ physician that he suspected Douglas was abusing prescription pain medication by forging prescriptions, running through …Read more

Gary and Renna Pehle (“Appellants”), husband and wife, applied for life insurance with the Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company (“Farm Bureau”) in Wyoming in 1999. As part of the application process, the Pehle’s submitted a blood test. The test was contracted to LabOne, an independent company located in Kansas. Both Appellants tested positive for Human …Read more