A motion for an interlocutory injunction was brought to prevent the City of Toronto from enforcing its By-law that prohibited camping and erecting tents, structures, and shelters in City parks, City of Toronto Municipal Code, c. 608. The applicants did not challenge the validity of the By-law but sought an order to have it suspended …Read more

The applicants appealed a decision affirming the constitutionality of Brian’s Law (Mental Health Legislative Reform), 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 9. (“Brian’s Law”), which was enacted by the Ontario legislature in 2000. Brian’s Law amended the Mental Health Act (“MHA”), adding provisions that expanded criteria for involuntary committal in a psychiatric hospital and introduced community treatment …Read more

The applicants’ claim was based on s. 27(1)(b) of the Constitution – the right to sufficient food and water, which they submitted found further expression in the provisions of the Water Services Act 108 of 1997 (“WSA”). Their complaint argued that farm occupiers and labour tenants, especially the applicants, lacked “access to sufficient water, basic …Read more

The applicant, Mr. Slavko Krajnc, was a professional truck driver in Celje, Slovenia. On September 29, 2003, Krajnc was deemed to have “category III work-related disability” as a result of his epilepsy, which rendered him unable to work as a truck driver. Accordingly, he had the right to be assigned to a different, more suitable …Read more

The state of Cabinda was declared annexed by Angola without any Cabindan participation in 1975. Despite protests by the Cabindan people, Angola exercised sovereignty over Cabinda. Groups in Cabinda attempted to re-claim autonomy of their country in 2002, but Angola undertook a massive military campaign against them. Angola’s large military force committed numerous documented human …Read more

The plaintiff brought the case to the Superior Court of Province of Neuquén to declare the unconstitutionality of the executive provincial decree 1184/2002 that regulates the National Law of Indigenous Policy 23 302 [Ley Nacional de Política indígena 23.302] because it violated Articles of the National Constitution, International Laws, Federal Legislation  and Provincial Constitution (Articles 7, …Read more

This case deals with the destruction of the Mayan community of Río Negro by a series of massacres perpetrated by the Guatemalan army and members of the civil self-defence patrols in 1980 and 1982 which, according to the IACmHR, included the persecution and elimination of members of the Mayan community, subsequent violations directed against the …Read more

This case alleged human rights violations resulting from Costa Rica’s prohibition on the practice of in vitro fertilization (“IVF”), which had been in effect in Costa Rica since 2000, following a ruling of the Constitutional Chamber of the Costa Rican Supreme Court of Justice (“Constitutional Chamber”) in which it was held that IVF violated the right to …Read more

Petitioner NGO brought a petition requesting that the Court declare that the act of female genital mutilation (FGM) was in violation of various articles of the Uganda Constitution.  The Petitioner argued that FGM was practiced extensively by the certain Ugandan tribes, and that FGM was crudely carried out, involved excruciating pain, could lead to death, …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

The author of the communication was the wife of the alleged victim, a Cameroon citizen. The author alleged that a group of police officers broke into her house without a warrant, claiming to be looking for a gun,  and began beating her husband (as well as battering the author, who was in an advanced state …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

Cyprus lodged an application against Turkey for alleged violations of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the “Convention”) which occurred during and after the Turkish military operations in Cyprus in 1974 and the subsequent 1983 establishment of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”). Cyprus alleged that Turkey was responsible …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

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

The respondents entered into a draft agreement with a leading US mining company for the exploration of phosphate deposits in Eppawela, an agriculturally developed area of great historical importance and archaeological value. The proposed area of exploration was described as land ‘initially covering 56 square kilometers’. The petitioners, residents of Eppawela, started proceedings in the …Read more

In 1991, representatives of the indigenous Enxet-Lamenxay and Kayleyphapopyet-Riachito communities commenced administrative proceedings against the Government of Paraguay to recover what they claimed was ancestral land that Paraguay had largely sold to foreigners in the years between 1885 and 1950. The petitioners described the land as “their main sustenance came from hunting, fishing, and gathering.” The …Read more

The petitioners were a group of persons living with HIV. They filed a writ of amparo against Venezuela’s Ministry of Health and Social Assistance (the Ministry). The Petitioners asked the Court to enjoin the Ministry to provide, free of charge: (1) the regular and periodic delivery of antiretroviral drugs and medication for opportunistic diseases; (2) …Read more

The Speaker of the National Assembly and sixty-eight deputies lodged a constitutional challenge in the Conseil Constitutionnel against several controversial provisions in the field of reproductive health. These were articles 8, 9, 10, 12 and 14 of law n°75-17, Loi relative au respect du corps humain et loi relative au don et à l’utilisation des …Read more

Chief Bernard Ominayak (the “author”) was the leader and representative of the Lubicon Lake Band (the “Band”), a Cree Indian Band living in the Province of Alberta in Canada. He argued that the State party expropriated Lubicon land for commercial interest despite its recognition that the Band members had the right to continue their traditional …Read more