B and W were detained in hospital after being sentenced to terms of discretionary life imprisonment. Both complained that they did not have access to a procedure by which they could challenge the lawfulness of their continued detention. B was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape in 1983. His tariff period of detention was set …Read more

Mr. Damião Ximenes Lopes was admitted to Casa de Repouso on October 1st, 1999 to receive treatment for his mental illness. When his mother, Mrs. Albertina Ximenes, went to visit him three days later, Mr. Lopes had his hands bound behind his back.  He was bruised, his head was swollen, his nose bloody, and he …Read more

The three applicants were mental patients held in state hospitals who had been convicted of homicide.  At the time of their convictions, the medical view was that all psychiatric conditions were treatable to an extent.  However, relevant medical knowledge had moved on, and medical advice was now that the conditions of the three applicants were …Read more

Applicants were two Finnish Nationals, a mother (K.) and her cohabitant (T.). K., a diagnosed schizophrenic, had a history of hospitalization. At the time K. and T. began cohabitating in 1991, K.’s daughter (P.) and son (M.) were living with her. The children had different fathers, neither of whom was T. In 1992, custody of …Read more

The appellant, H, had a history of sexually violent behavior toward women, and he experienced his first imprisonment and compulsory treatment order in 1998. H had been receiving treatment at the Mason Clinic since prisoners were not permitted outpatient community treatment. In 1999, H completed his prison sentence, but none of his physicians initiated proceedings …Read more

Jodie and Mary were conjoined twins connected at the lower abdomen. Each had their own vital organs, but one of Jodie’s arteries supplied oxygenated blood to Mary. The twins were surgically capable of being separated, but doing so would leave Mary’s deficient heart and lungs without support and lead to her death. However, if the …Read more

Applicant, a Polish national suffering from chronic depression, alleged violations of Articles 3 (prohibition of torture), 5.3 (trial within a reasonable time), 6.1 (unreasonably long proceedings), and 13 (effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The applicant was in detention for fraud charges. While in prison, he attempted suicide twice and went …Read more

Applicant was accused of being mentally ill and dangerous. The District Prosecutor’s Office opened an inquiry. A police officer heard the applicant, who allegedly presented a document issued by a psychiatrist certifying that he was mentally fit. Later applicant refused an invitation by the prosecutor to undergo psychiatric examination therefore he was forcefully detained at …Read more

This joint appeal involved two cases wherein mentally ill individuals were released from psychiatric hospitals into the care of their families. In File 152.647, Jorge Sandro Hernandez Tacuri had been repeatedly admitted into psychiatric hospitals because he suffered from a variety of mental psychosis, including schizophrenia and epilepsy. After treatment in the psychiatric hospital, Jorge …Read more

The Applicant, Mr Wilibald Rudolf Matter, had been undergoing psychiatric treatment for twenty years for a continually worsening syndrome of dementia. As a result, the Čadca District Court restricted his legal capacity in 1976, and later in 1983 deprived him of all legal capacity on the ground that he suffered from an “explosive and vexatious form …Read more