Black et al. v. City of Toronto
Country: CanadaYear: 2020
Court: Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Citation: 2020 ONSC 6398
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Sexual and reproductive health, Water, sanitation and hygiene
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
Mshengu and Others v. Msunduzi Local Municipality and Others
Country: South AfricaYear: 2019
Court: HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA KWAZULU-NATAL DIVISION, PIETERMARITZBURG
Citation: [2019] 4 All SA 469 (KZP)
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
Otgon v. Republic of Moldova
Country: MoldovaYear: 2016
Court: The European Court of Human Rights
Citation: ECHR 343 (2016)
Health Topics: Infectious diseases, Public safety, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Right to water and sanitation
The applicant and his daughter were admitted to the hospital as they suffered from serious dysentery after drinking tap water. She ensued action against the State-owned utilities provided. The District Court ruled in her favor. The Higher Courts confirmed the findings of the first instance but reduced the award by more than half of the …Read more
Bushula v. Ukhahlamba District Municipality
Country: South AfricaYear: 2012
Court: High Court of South Africa (Eastern Cape Division)
Citation: [2012] ZAECGHC 1
Health Topics: Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Right to water and sanitation
This case was about the scope of the constitutional right of access to a water supply. The applicant was a resident of Kwa-Ngquba Locality and the respondent was a District Municipality responsible for providing water services under the Water Service Act 108 of 2017. The case of the applicant was that in 2004, the respondent …Read more
SERAP v. Federal Republic of Nigeria
Country: NigeriaYear: 2012
Court: The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Citation: JUDGMENT N° ECW/CCJ/JUD/18/12.
Health Topics: Diet and nutrition, Environmental health, Public safety, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment, Right to food, Right to health, Right to water and sanitation
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a non-governmental organization, filed a case against the Federal Republic of Nigeria alleging human rights violations as a result of the government’s failure to ensure adequate environmental protection in the Niger Delta due to oil spillage. SERAP alleged that decades of oil prospection and exploitation by private corporations …Read more
The Rio Negro Massacres v. Guatemala
Country: GuatemalaYear: 2012
Court: Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Diet and nutrition, Health care and health services, Health information, Health systems and financing, Hospitals, Poverty, Violence, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Freedom of movement and residence, Freedom of religion, Right to bodily integrity, Right to development, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to family life, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life, Right to privacy, Rights to the benefits of culture
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
Federation for Sustainable Environment and Others v Minister of Water Affairs and Others
Country: South AfricaYear: 2011
Court: High Court of South Africa
Citation: [2012] ZAGPPHC 128 (10 July 2012).
Health Topics: Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Right to water and sanitation
Water in Silobela, Carolina Town and Caropark neighbourhoods in the town of Carolina, South Africa was contamintaed by acid mines severaly rendering it unfit for consumption. Water tanks were brought in from neighboring towns to supply drinking water to the town’s residents, but some of the tanks were not refilled, and some were not refilled …Read more
Ibrahim Sangor Osman v. Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security
Country: KenyaYear: 2011
Court: High Court of Kenya at Embu
Citation: (2011) eKLR (Kenya).
Health Topics: Diet and nutrition, Health care and health services, Violence, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right of access to information, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to housing, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life, Right to water and sanitation
The petitioners claimed that a group of armed police officers arrived on their land and without warning or a court order begun demolishing the houses and structures of the petitioners, leaving them homeless. Further, they alleged that police used tear gas and physical violence to evict the petitioners, who were resisting the demolition. The petitioners …Read more
Matsipane Mosetlhanyane, et al. v. Attorney General
Country: BotswanaYear: 2011
Court: Court of Appeal of the Republic of Botswana at Lobatse
Citation: Matsipane Mosetlhanyane & Ors v. The Attorney General [2011] CivilAppeal No. CACLB-074-10 (Bots.).
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to water and sanitation
Appellants, a married couple who are members of an indigenous community known as the “Basarwa,” sought reversal of a High Court decision that had denied members of the Basarwa communities a constitutional right to utilize at their own expense a borehole located within the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) for purposes of extracting and using …Read more
Marian Stoicescu v. Romania
Country: RomaniaYear: 2009
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 12934/02
Health Topics: Prisons, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
The plaintiff, Marian Stoicescu, a Romanian national, applied to the European Court of Human Rights in 2002 alleging that the conditions in the Romanian prison Bucarest-Jilava violated Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights, prohibiting torture and inhumane or degrading treatment. In 2000, the plaintiff was sentenced to 8 years in prison for …Read more