The Respondent, PD, was a patient of the Alpha Medical Centre (the Centre) from October 1997 until February 1999. On 16 November 1998, she participated in a joint medical consultation with her husband-to-be, FH. The Appellants, Dr. Harvey and Dr. Chen, were their treating physicians. The couple met with Dr. Harvey for the purpose of …Read more

Carole Ogilvy Chester made a claim of medical negligence against her surgeon Fari Afshar and sought damages. Ms. Chester suffered from severe backaches for a considerable amount of time, and was referred to Dr. Afshar who was a renowned consultant neurosurgeon. Dr. Afshar advised her to go in for surgery, which she did. The surgery …Read more

Applicants, a severely handicapped child and his mother (and legal proxy) Ms. Glass, claimed an Article 8 violation (right to respect for private life) when Ms. Glass’ objection to a course of medical treatment was overruled by the medical staff. As a legal proxy, the mother gave authorization to the doctors at St Mary’s Hospital …Read more

Christian Lawyers’ Association (“plaintiff”) submitted an action seeking to find unconstitutional sections of the Choice on Termination of pregnancy Act 92 of 1996 (“the Act”). The sections enabled women under the age of 18 to terminate their pregnancy without restrictions such as parental consent, parental consultation, required counselling, or a waiting period (collectively called “parental …Read more

In 1999, it was disclosed that for many years tissue and organs had been taken at or after post-mortems on deceased children, which were retained without the knowledge of the parents. Hospital post-mortem examinations were generally carried out following the death of a person in a hospital, provided, in accordance with the Human Tissue Act …Read more

The Court issued this decision in response to numerous petitions challenging the constitutionality of the sections of the Act CLIV of 1997 on Healthcare pertaining to the treatment of psychiatric patients, especially those with limited disposing capacity. One petitioner objected to the provision of the AH which allowed a therapist to use the assistance of …Read more

Petitioner, Sell, had a long history of mental illness. In 1998, a federal grand jury issued an indictment charging Sell with attempting to murder an FBI agent who had arrested him in connection with a separate charge of mail fraud and a former employee who planned to testify against him in the upcoming fraud case. …Read more

A group of NGOs lodged a petition with the Commission alleging that Peru violated Maria Mamérita Mestanza Chávez’s rights on account of a forced sterilization that resulted in her death. Peru implemented a family planning policy involving compulsory and systematic sterilization in order to modify the reproductive behavior of the population. Poor, indigenous, and rural …Read more

The Applicant, Irvin and Johnson Limited, wished to arrange for the voluntary and anonymous HIV testing of the more than 1,100 employees in its trawling division. The testing was to be based on the principle of informed consent and accompanied by pre- and post-test counselling. However, the age and job category of the tested employee …Read more

This case was brought by the Public Advocate of Victoria as limited guardian of BWV, a woman aged 68 years, suffering from a fatal form of dementia (most likely Pick’s disease). At the time of bringing the case, BWV had not appeared conscious, nor had she had any cortical activity for approximately three years. Evidence …Read more

Between 1993 and 1998, the applicant was accused of multiple offenses, including preventing her neighbors from accessing a track to the housing estate, inciting her two daughters to attack their neighbor physically and verbally, threatening her neighbor with a shovel, and doing unauthorized renovation work. In conjunction with the proceedings in the cases against the …Read more

H, a young woman who suffered from Down’s syndrome and was severely mentally disabled, lived with her mother, BL, who was deeply distrustful of the health authorities. When her BL fell ill and H’s behaviour became increasingly disturbed H was formally admitted to hospital for assessment under section 2 (allowing mandatory commitment for mentally ill …Read more

YF was a Turkish national. On 15 October 1993, he was taken into custody on suspicion of aiding and abetting the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), an illegal terrorist organization. Two days later, his wife, NF, was also taken into custody. NF was held in custody for four days, during which time she was allegedly kept …Read more

The respondent Starson was a physicist who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had intermittently received treatment in various mental institutions in the United States and Canada. Historically, he had used medication to regulate the condition. However, the side effects dulled Starson’s mind, and he refused further treatment, despite being informed his condition would deteriorate …Read more

Complainants P and M were mental health advocates, who brought the complaint on behalf of patients detained at Campama, a psychiatric unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital, and existing and future mental health patients detained under the Mental Health Acts of the Republic of The Gambia. Complainants alleged that legislation governing mental health in The …Read more

The Court of Hungary received several petitions regarding the right of patients suffering from terminal illnesses to end their lives with dignity and consolidated the petitions into a single judgment. One petition asked the Court to declare unconstitutional and annul the last sentence in Section 43, paragraph (2) of Act II of 1972 on Healthcare. …Read more

The Plaintiffs Zhen Xuefeng and Chen Guoqing were a married couple seeking a fertility treatment. They signed a contract regarding such assisted reproduction with defendant People’s hospital of Jiangsu Province (“People’s hospital”). The contract did not specify which of two fertilization techniques (Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (“ICSI”) or In Vitro Fertilization (“IVF”)) would be used, however …Read more

D was offered employment by B, a building society, as a security officer, subjecting her to undergoing and passing a full medical examination, including submission of certified documentation as to her HIV status. D began a six month probationary period which finished on 27 August 2002. After some reflection D informed B on 7 October …Read more

At least 55 men were arrested in Cairo on grounds of their sexual orientation during a police raid of a discotheque. The raid occurred after undercover officers entered the bar and observed and filmed dancing. The police targeted men who appeared to be homosexuals or who were not accompanied by women. One man was slapped …Read more

The Applicant, Joy Mining Machinery, was a manufacturer, supplier and service provider of mining machinery. The Applicant had attempted to determine the extent of HIV prevalence at its workplace by commissioning a study of HIV prevalence based on the demographic groups at the workplace. As this was ultimately unhelpful, the Applicant wished to determine the …Read more

On June 21, 2001, the petitioner delivered a baby by the roadside and visited the second respondent’s Naguru Maternity Home/Clinic with the baby still attached to her. She received no medical care and was referred to another hospital. The petitioner was unable to walk the distance and was forced to sit outside with her newborn …Read more

Petitioners were former patients who received obstetrical care at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), a public hospital in the city of Charleston, and who were arrested after testing positive for cocaine. In 1988, concerns arose among MUSC staff about an apparent increase in the use of cocaine by patients who were receiving prenatal …Read more

A doctor, Y, was treating Mrs. X during her pregnancy. Y suspected a breech presentation (buttocks- or feet-first presentation rather than the normal head-first presentation) during the 8th month of pregnancy. The mother wanted a home birth. On 12 January, the child was born in a home birth and as a result of inadequate medical …Read more

The plaintiff’s husband was hospitalized due to severe renal failure. Conscious of his severe state of health, the husband wrote a statement ten days later stating that, as a Jehovah’s Witness, he refused to get any blood products or transfusions, even if there were essential to his survival. The doctors gave him a blood transfusion …Read more

Before the promulgation of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Act, 78 senators made a referral to the French constitutional court challenging the constitutionality of the new bill according to article 61 of the French Constitution. The Act had three components. It extended to 12 weeks the period of time a woman could have an abortion …Read more

The Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) brought charges to determine whether a practitioner is guilty of punishable “infamous conduct” when in deference to a patient’s religious views which he failed to provide live-saving blood transfusions, refer the patient to another practitioner, or terminate his medical contract. The patient, Martha Okorie, and her …Read more

Jodie and Mary were conjoined twins connected at the lower abdomen. Each had their own vital organs, but one of Jodie’s arteries supplied oxygenated blood to Mary. The twins were surgically capable of being separated, but doing so would leave Mary’s deficient heart and lungs without support and lead to her death. However, if the …Read more

Applicant was accused of being mentally ill and dangerous. The District Prosecutor’s Office opened an inquiry. A police officer heard the applicant, who allegedly presented a document issued by a psychiatrist certifying that he was mentally fit. Later applicant refused an invitation by the prosecutor to undergo psychiatric examination therefore he was forcefully detained at …Read more

Two medical practitioners came to an agreement where the first practitioner would give the second practitioner half of his patients in return for payment of money and provision of equipment. One doctor defaulted under this agreement and sought to enforce it in the court. The Court of Appeals had held that the agreement was void.

Terrance Parker suffered from severe epilepsy since he was a young child. He could substantially reduce the incidence of seizures by smoking marihuana, but he had no legal source of marihuana. Parker was charged with cultivating marihuana under the Narcotic Control Act and with possession of marihuana under the new Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. …Read more