Jeladze v. Georgia
Country: GeorgiaYear: 2012
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 1871/08
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Infectious diseases, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
Mr. Genadi Jeladze, an imprisoned Georgian national, discovered that he had contracted a chronic form of viral Hepatitis C (“HCV”) while in prison. A self-funded medical examination recommended antiviral treatment on an outpatient basis. In response, the prison offered drug treatment which did not include antiviral drugs. Over the next year, Jeladze’s lawyer requested a …Read more
Joyce Nawila Chiti v. Zambia
Country: ZambiaYear: 2012
Court: United Nations Human Rights Committee
Citation: Communication no. 1303/2004
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Diet and nutrition, Health care and health services, HIV/AIDS, Medicines, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Freedom of movement and residence, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to education, Right to family life, Right to health, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life, Right to privacy
On 28 October 1997, JC (a military officer) was arrested by Zambian police for an attempted coup d’état. He was severely tortured and charged with treason. While being tortured, he was forced to sign false confessions and to implicate other military officials. Because of the torture, he was hospitalized at various times. On 31 October …Read more
Koryak v. Russia
Country: RussiaYear: 2012
Court: The European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application number 24677/10
Health Topics: Health care and health services, HIV/AIDS, Infectious diseases, Medicines, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person
The applicant was arrested and convicted of murder. The applicant alleged that he had not received proper medical attention while in detention and his detention and refusal to release despite his serious medical condition amounted to cruel treatment. He was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in 2004. The applicant had been suffering from Tuberculosis …Read more
Munjaz v. United Kingdom
Country: United KingdomYear: 2012
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 2913/06; [2012] ECHR 1704
Health Topics: Hospitals, Mental health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Freedom of movement and residence, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to family life, Right to liberty and security of person
The Applicant, a UK citizen born in 1947, alleged that the seclusion policy (“Policy”) of Ashworth Special Hospital (“Ashworth”), the maximum security hospital where he was committed for a mental illness, violated the European Convention on Human Rights. After several instances of incarceration and hospitalization on account of various mental health issues, the applicant was …Read more
Application of Justice Health, re a Patient
Country: AustraliaYear: 2011
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Citation: (2011) 80 NSWLR 354; [2011] NSWSC 432
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Informed consent, Prisons
Human Rights: Right to bodily integrity, Right to health
An inmate in a correction centre (the “patient”) had end-stage lung cancer with, at best, weeks to live. The patient was incompetent to give consent or refuse any medical treatment and had no guardian who could provide substituted consent. The unanimous medical opinion was that further active treatment would be futile, and additional medical opinion …Read more
Brown v. Plata
Country: United StatesYear: 2011
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 131 S.Ct. 1910 (2011)
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Health care and health services, Health systems and financing, Hospitals, Infectious diseases, Mental health, Prisons, Violence, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to health
This case involved an appeal from a decision made by a three-judge court that was convened by the Federal District Court to decide the appropriate remedy for violations of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The violations were the subject of two related Federal District Court cases in California: Coleman v. Brown (1990) …Read more
Chimwemwe Mphembedzu v. The Republic
Country: MalawiYear: 2011
Court: High Court
Citation: Bail Case No. 70 of 2011
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Prisons
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial
This case considered whether a prisoner in ill health should be released from prison. The applicant was serving time in prison for murder. He argued that he should be released on bail given his ill health and that the delay in bringing his case to trial was unreasonable. He had been imprisoned since October 2007 …Read more
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, et al. v. Egypt
Country: EgyptYear: 2011
Court: African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Citation: Comm. No. 334/06
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to life
Three individuals (‘the victims’) were arrested, detained, interrogated, tried and sentenced to death by the Egyptian authorities for their alleged involvement in the 2004 and 2005 bomb attacks on tourist resorts in the Sinai Peninsula. The victims argued that in the course of these proceedings Egypt violated their rights to be free from torture and …Read more
Elefteriadis v. Romania
Country: RomaniaYear: 2011
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 38427/05
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Health care and health services, Health systems and financing, Prisons, Tobacco
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
Applicant, Mr. Elefteriadis, alleged that he was exposed to second-hand smoke in crowded cells during several periods of detention, as well as in transport vehicles during frequent transfers between prison and court and in designated rooms for prisoners awaiting hearings. The applicant claimed such situations contravened Article 3 (freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment) of …Read more
Grand Justices Interpretation No. 690
Country:Year: 2011
Court: Grand Justices Council
Citation: Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 690 (Grand Justices Council Sept. 30, 2011) (Taiwan).
Health Topics: Hospitals, Infectious diseases, Public safety
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person
According to Article 37 of the Communicable Disease Control Act, revised January 30, 2002, “Any person who had physical contacts with patients of contagious diseases, or suspected of being infected, shall be detained and checked by the competent authority, and if necessary, shall be ordered to move into designated places for further examinations, or to take …Read more