The petitioner, Kracke, was mentally ill and was being subjected to medical treatment without his consent. He was required to take drugs with adverse side effects and had been trying unsuccessfully to convince the medical authorities to let him stop taking them. The drugs were being administered under treatment orders issued pursuant to the Mental …Read more

The applicant, a Polish national, alleged a violation of Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the “Convention”) based on inadequate medical care during his detention in various Polish detention centers, as well as the overcrowding and poor conditions in those same facilities. In April of 2005, the …Read more

Fifty buses worth of landless rural workers attempted to protest in Paraná’s capital for agrarian reform as large amounts of the rural lands in the state were owned by a few landholders. The caravan was intercepted by military police. When passengers got off one of the buses to inquire what was happening, the military police …Read more

In May 2007, the State of Panama, without community consultation, granted a concession for the construction of a hydroelectric dam within the traditional lands of an indigenous community, the Ngöbe. Although the construction of the dam was still in its initial stages at the time the petition was filed, the petitioner alleged that the work …Read more

This case was heard together with case 70/2009-0-0. The Petitioners, Miroslav Grcev and Stamen Filipov, challenged the constitutionality of the Anti-Smoking Law (the Law). The Law banned smoking in public premises, advertising cigarettes, and selling cigarettes to persons under the age of 16. Public premises included institutions for education, health, state administration,  public transport, and …Read more

This case was heard together with case 261/2008-0-0. The Petitioners, Miroslav Grcev and Stamen Filipov, challenged the constitutionality of the Anti-Smoking Law (the Law). The Law banned smoking in public premises, advertising cigarettes, and selling cigarettes to persons under the age of 16. Public premises included institutions for education, health, state administration,  public transport, and …Read more

The complainants, two human rights organizations based in Sudan, the United Kingdom and Canada, alleged gross and systematic violations of human rights on the part of the Republic of Sudan and Government-supported militia forces in the Darfur region against indigenous tribes, including the Fur, Marsalit and Zaghawa. The organizations alleged that since General Omar Al-Bashir …Read more

This decision addressed the power of the Ecuadorian executive to curtail the rights to freedom of movement, meeting and association by issuing a state of emergency aimed at preventing an outbreak of the swine flu virus, defined as a global threat by the World Health Organization. The Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador, Mr. …Read more

The petitioners were pastoralists and communal landowners in the Baringo District in Rift Valley Province, Kenya. The petitioners alleged that the respondents (the Attorney-General, the Minister for Environmental and Natural Resources, the National Environment Management Authority, and the County Council of Baringo) were liable for violating their rights to life (under Section 71 of the …Read more

The Constitutional Court considered the persistence of an unconstitutional state of affairs with regard to forced displacement, which disproportionately affected women in Colombia. The Court originally declared an unconstitutional state of affairs in Ruling T-025 of 2004 and again in Resolution 218 of 2006. More than half the displaced people in Colombia  (54 per cent) …Read more

In March 2002, the Botswana Government terminated certain basic services to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), including access to: Drinking water; Maintenance of borehole water; Rations to registered destitute; Rations to registered orphans; Transport for the applicants’ children to and from school; and Healthcare to the applicants through mobile clinics and ambulance services. The …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

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

Petitioners, leaders of the Yakye Axa indigenous community of the Enxet-Lengua people, filed suit against the Republic of Paraguay alleging violations articles 4 (right to life) and 25 (right to judicial Protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). They further alleged that Paraguay ignored article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil …Read more

N, a Ugandan woman, came to London in Mach 1998 seeking asylum. Her application for asylum was rejected and the Secretary of State proposed to expel her. N was suffering from advanced HIV/AIDS, but had achieved a stable condition due to the extensive medical treatment and medication she had been receiving in the UK. If …Read more

DW was a Jamaican citizen who sought asylum in the United Kingdom. He claimed to have been persecuted in Jamaica on the basis of his sexual orientation. He recounted two instances of being assaulted on the basis of being a homosexual. DW feared reporting these incidences to the police because he believed that they would …Read more

The village of Moiwana, consisting of N’djuka people of African descent, was attacked in November 1986 by members of the armed forces of Suriname, who allegedly massacred  40 men, women and children, and “razed the village to the ground.” Members of Moiwana practiced hunting, farming, and fishing as their means of subsistence. Following the massacre, …Read more

The village of Moiwana, consisting of N’djuka people of African descent, was attacked in November 1986 by members of the armed forces of Suriname, who allegedly massacred  40 men, women and children, and “razed the village to the ground.” Members of Moiwana practiced hunting, farming, and fishing as their means of subsistence. Following the massacre, …Read more

The applicant, Ms. Kolanis, was convicted of a crime and found to be suffering from mental illness pursuant to the Mental Health Act 1983. Her application to reside at home was upheld by the Tribunal, which ordered her conditional discharge provided she live at home with her parents, be supervised by a social worker and …Read more

This report addresses the admissibility of a petition that alleged Peru failed to fulfill its obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). The Petitioner was the National Coordinator of Communities of Peru Affected by Mining (CONACAMI), representing members of the Community of San Mateo de Huanchor, in their claim that the State …Read more

Daniel Tibi was a gem merchant who was arrested in 1995 while he was driving his car down a street in Quito, Ecuador. He was detained by officers of the Quito police force without a court order and taken by plane to the city of Guayaquil, 600 kilometers from Quito, where he was placed in …Read more

The Secretary of State sought to appeal a decision which held that removing Mr. Razgar from the United Kingdom would be a violation of his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Mr. Razgar was an asylum seeker from Iraq who initially sought asylum in Germany, where he claimed to have been detained, …Read more

An Afghani woman (appellant) seeks asylum in the United Kingdom. The Appellant and her husband lived and worked in Kabul, Afghanistan with their three young children. After war broke out in 1992 and the destruction of the family home, the Appellant and her family left Kabul and moved to Takhar, a town in northern Afghanistan …Read more

The plaintiff was diagnosed with a severe inflammatory disease, and she was offered treatments at the hospital in Sweden using a common treatment method for her disease.  After ending two rounds of this treatment process (and learning that doctors recommended a further 6 to 12 treatment rounds), the plaintiff had commenced the new treatment method …Read more

The plaintiff regularly stayed in Germany during part of the year and needed dental treatment. The first treatment was deemed acute and thus paid for by the German version of the Swedish Social Security Insurance Agency (SSIA). Subsequent treatments were deemed not acute and thus were not paid for. The plaintiff sought compensation by the …Read more

The petitioner, an Italian citizen detained by Australian authorities for breach of immigration law, alleged possible violations of family rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) due to his continued detention which led to his mental health deterioration. Initially, when petitioner suffered a mental health deterioration while detained, he was released …Read more

The applicant, a United Kingdom national, suffered from severe autism. He was unable to speak, his level of understanding was limited, and he lacked the ability to consent or refuse treatment. For over thirty years he had been cared for in Bournewood Hospital as an in-patient at the Intensive Behavioural Unit after which time he …Read more

The Democratic Republic of Congo initiated proceedings before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, alleging that the respondent countries (Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda) committed various human rights violations. The Democratic Republic of Congo alleged that the respondent countries committed multiple massacres against people of the Democratic Republic of Congo including attacking Inga hydroelectric …Read more

During his stay in Germany, Mr. Ioannidis, a resident of Greece, was admitted to a clinic to undergo a catheterization with a heart catheter for pains in his thorax due to angina pectoris. Mr. Ioannidis had an old-age pension from the social security organization IKA. Mr. Ioannidis requested the German sickness fund to pay for …Read more

The petitioner challenged as ultra vires the provision requiring motorcyclists to wear protective helmets. The law exempted Sikhs who wear turbans while riding on motorcyclists. The petitioner claimed that this provision violated Article 19(a) of the Constitution, which, inter alia, confers the right on all citizens to practice any profession or to carry on any …Read more