The National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance’s Medical Control Service asked the Court of Arbitration a preliminary question on articles 141, 146 and 156 of the Law relating to mandatory healthcare and benefits insurance (“Law”), concerning their potential violation of articles 10 and 11 of the Belgian Constitution, and correspondingly, of article 6 of …Read more

Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes was physically abused by her husband, Mr. Heredia Viveiros, for many years. In May 1983, he shot her while she was sleeping in an attempt to murder her. She survived but sustained serious injuries and became paraplegic. Two weeks after the shooting, he attacked her again and at that moment …Read more

The applicant alleged that the military government of Nigeria (Government), in its efforts to produce oil through the State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), contaminated the environment of the Ogoni People and led to environmental degradation and health problems among that community. More specifically, the applicant claimed that the NNPC, acting within a consortium with …Read more

Illegal migrants who had applied for regularization were de facto condoned on the territory pending their application, but were not entitled to full social services; they were only entitled to urgent medical care. In contrast, asylum seekers who were appealing a rejection and foreigners residing legally in the country were entitled to full social services. …Read more

Montfort Hospital appealed the Healthcare Services Restructuring Committee’s (HSRC) decision to transfer services away from the hospital. Montfort was a full-service, general hospital in Ontario that operated, trained health-care professionals and provided services in French on a full-time basis, servicing a large francophone population in eastern Ontario. Exercising its authority under the Public Hospitals Act, …Read more

The applicant in this case was a Turkish national who lodged his complaint before the European Court of Human Rights (the ECHR) alleging that his son had been tortured to death in detention in Turkey. He relied on Articles 2, 3, 5, 13, 14 and 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). …Read more

A, the Petitioner, was a Master Chief Engine Room Artificer-II Class in the Indian Navy. In 1997, he was found to be living with HIV. He was put in low medical category but allowed to remain in service and complete 15 years of service, which made him eligible for pension and other benefits. In 1999, …Read more

The applicant was an inmate of Warkworth prison and a long time heroin addict. While an inmate, the applicant sought to overcome this addiction. The Correctional Service of Canada had a 2-phase program to address addiction cases.  Phase I provided regular doses of methadone “only to those entering federal prison… already enrolled in a community …Read more

This case was brought to the Court by members of the Ogiek community who sought a declaration that their forcible eviction from the Tinet Forest by the Kenyan government was unconstitutional. The applicants claimed that the eviction was in contravention of their rights to protection of the law, their right to life, their right to …Read more

Six communications jointly alleged that the Mauritanian state committed numerous human rights violations from 1986 to 1992. Specifically, the communications alleged that the State violated articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, and 26 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“the Charter”), which came into …Read more

Gloria Máxima Ortiz Rivera, an employee at the Municipality of Sucre, received memorandum No. 95/00 on February 22, 2000, which she claimed put her in the fifth bracket of the payroll and constituted a demotion and an indirect dismissal. Rivera asserted that upon reaching her 32nd week of pregnancy she was prevented from accepting the …Read more

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Namibia prompted the Government of Namibia to issue Guidelines for the Implementation of a National Code on HIV/AIDS in Employment (Guidelines), which extended nondiscrimination provisions to enlistment procedures of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF). In part, the Guidelines aimed to counteract prejudices and ignorance surrounding the nature and cause of HIV/AIDS, …Read more

The complainant alleged that Nigerian security agents arbitrarily arrested his client, Mr. Ayodele Ameen, as a result of Mr. Ameen’s political activism in support of validating the country’s 12 June 1994 elections, which the Nigerian military government had previously annulled. While in prison, the complainant claimed that Nigerian security officials tortured Mr. Ameen, subjected him …Read more

The applicant, a German national was the acknowledged and supporting father of the child, C., born out of wedlock. Five years later the mother refused visits by applicant to his son and mediation attempts failed. The applicant unsuccessfully filed an application to the Mettmann District Court (Amtsgericht) for an order granting him a right of …Read more

In 1996, the Appellant applied for employment as a cabin attendant with South African Airways (SAA). At the end of the selection process, he was found to be a suitable candidate for employment. He was then subject to a medical examination, which found him clinically fit and thus suitable for employment. However, a blood test …Read more

M was convicted of rape. Under s 142(2) of the Penal Code (as amended by the Penal Code (Amendment) Act 1998 (No 5 of 1998)) he was required to undergo an HIV test before being sentenced. M tested positive. Under s 142(4)(a) a person convicted of rape who proves to have HIV is subject to …Read more

S was a homosexual Portuguese national. In 1983 he married a woman, C, with whom he had a daughter. S and C subsequently separated and then divorced. Since their separation, S had been living with another man. In connection with their divorce, S and C signed an agreement giving C parental responsibility over the daughter …Read more

In the first case the complainant, M, was refused employment as a gardener-horticulturist, even though she had successfully completed her training, after a pre-employment medical examination revealed a weakness in her spinal column. M had never suffered any lower back pain and had no disability performing normal activities. In the second case the complainant, T, …Read more

Living World Distributors (“LWD”) attempted to import two videos from the USA into New Zealand. The videos, which discussed aspects of homosexuality, opposed the granting of special rights to homosexuals and stated that homosexuality is one of the causes of the spread of HIV/AIDS. The videos were deemed suitable for audiences over 16 years old …Read more

The Respondents, L. C. and E. W., both mentally disabled women, brought proceedings against the State alleging that the State’s failure to place them in a community-based program, after their treating professional had determined that such a placement was appropriate, violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Title II of …Read more

X was discharged from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) after he tested positive for HIV, in accordance with an ADF policy that sought to avoid transmission of HIV between soldiers. He subsequently filed a complaint with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (the Commission), claiming his discharge constituted unlawful discrimination under the Disability Discrimination …Read more

Mr. Lustig-Prean and Mr. Beckett were discharged from the Royal Navy on the basis of their sexual orientation. In June 1994, Mr. Lustig-Prean was approached by military service police and, wanting to avoid further and less discrete investigations, Mr. Lustig-Prean admitted that he was homosexual. In May 1993, Mr. Beckett admitted to his superiors that …Read more

The Applicants were both exemplary members of the Royal Air Force and had been discharged solely due to being homosexual. The first appellant was an enrolled nurse.  An anonymous female caller left a message on the applicant’s answering machine stating that she knew about the applicant’s homosexuality and afterwards informed the air force authorities. In a …Read more

In 1996, Glen Fielding was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Whilst incarcerated, Fielding, a man who had sex with men, requested condoms but was refused on the basis that it was against Prison Service policy to provide condoms to a prisoner who was not HIV-positive; there was no evidence that Fielding was HIV positive. The …Read more

North West Lancashire Health Authority (the Authority), the Appellant, appealed against an order quashing the Authority’s decision to refuse gender reassignment treatment to A, D and G, the Respondents. A, D and G all suffered from “gender identity dysphoria,” or transsexualism. Each had male physical characteristics but female sexual identity. A and G had been …Read more