Cruz Varas and Ors v. Sweden
Country: SwedenYear: 1991
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 15576/89
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to family life
Cruz Varas (C V) , his wife and son (all Chilean nationals) had applied for political asylum but the National Immigration Board held that, from the information given, they had not invoked sufficiently strong reasons to be considered as refugees under national or international law and that they should be expelled. In an unsuccessful appeal …Read more
R v Swain
Country: CanadaYear: 1991
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: [1991] 1 RCS
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons, Public safety, Violence
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person
Swain was arrested and charged with assault and aggravated assault. Due to his bizarre conduct during the incident and at the time of his arrest, Swain was transferred from jail to a mental health centre before trial. His condition improved with medication, and he was conditionally released into the community before trial. Swain continued to …Read more
Velasquez Rodriguez v. Honduras
Country: HondurasYear: 1988
Court: Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Citation: Series C No. 4, July 29 1989
Health Topics: Prisons, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
This case considered the practice of “forced disappearances” by the Government of Honduras, which included secret surveillance, kidnapping and executions. The Court found as proved that “[d]uring the period 1981 to 1984, 100 to 150 persons disappeared in the Republic of Honduras, and many were never heard from again.” It recognized patterns in these disappearances …Read more
Velasquez Rodriguez v. Honduras
Country: HondurasYear: 1986
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Resolution No. 22/86, Case 7920, April 18, 1986, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.68 Doc. 8 rev. 1, 26 September 1986
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
Angel Manfredo Velasquez Rodriguez (“AMVR”), a UNAH student, was arrested without warrant in Tegucigalpa on September 12, 1981. Eyewitnesses saw members of the National Investigation Directorate and G-2 (Intelligence) of the Armed Forces of Honduras apprehend and take AMVR to an unknown location. On September 9, 1981, the Government of Honduras recognized the jurisdiction of …Read more
X v. The United Kingdom
Country: United KingdomYear: 1981
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: App. No. 7215/75, 4 Eur. H.R. Rep. 188 (1982).
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to health, Right to liberty and security of person
The applicant, a United Kingdom national who had previously been diagnosed with having a paranoid psychosis, claimed that the United Kingdom unlawfully deprived him of his liberty when authorities forcibly recalled him to a hospital for the criminally insane in which he had completed a prior sentence for a violent crime. At the time of …Read more
X. v. Ireland
Country: IrelandYear: 1970
Court: European Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 3717/68
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Diet and nutrition, Health care and health services, Prisons
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to privacy
Applicant, a stateless person with a Swedish alien’s passport, was arrested in Scotland on suspicion of committing murder in Ireland. Applicant was taken to Ireland, convicted of murder, and sentenced to penal servitude for life. Applicant claimed that his trial was “rigged and fixed” as a result of a conspiracy between the judge, his own …Read more
Francisco C. De La Rama v. The People’s Court
Country: PhilippinesYear: 1946
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: G.R. No. L-982
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Health care and health services, Infectious diseases, Medicines, Poverty, Prisons
Human Rights: Right to liberty and security of person
The Petitioner was an accused seeking bail on the grounds of ill health. In the meantime, he had filed a motion asking for permission to be confined and treated in a hospital while the bail petition was being considered. The People’s Court ordered that the Petitioner be temporarily confined and treated in the Quezon Institute, …Read more