The plaintiff, a Costa Rican national, presented an appeal of protection against the Ministry of Justice claiming his right to health had been violated. The plaintiff was deprived from liberty in a local prison which he claimed was overpopulated and in close contact with persons with chronic diseases. The Ministry of Justice argued that it …Read more

The defendant was the editor of the weekly magazine VSD (Vendredi, Samedi, Dimanche). In this case, VSD appealed a decision of the court of appeals in which the defendant was fined 200,000 francs by the Paris Court of Appeals on 24 February 1995 for complicity in illegal advertisement of tobacco as defined by the laws …Read more

Petitioners challenged the constitutionality of Article 9 of Costa Rica’s tobacco regulation act, which provided for a partial ban on cigar and cigarette advertisement. In their submission, petitioners claimed the constitutional standard to safeguard the right to health, to life and to a clean environment could not be appropriately fulfilled by such a partial ban, …Read more

Applicant, Russian national and President of the Northeast Commercial Bank, was accused of embezzlement and placed in detention. According to the applicant, he was detained in overcrowded and unsanitary cells, which occasionally contained inmates suffering from tuberculosis and syphilis. Moreover, the cells had inadequate toilet facilities, insufficient ventilation, and pest infestations. As a result the …Read more

The applicant, a public interest organisation, brought an application in the public interest seeking a declaration that unregulated smoking in public areas is a violation of the constitutional rights of non-smokers to life and to a clean and healthy environment. Article 50(2) of Uganda’s Constitution provides that “[a]ny person or organization may bring an action …Read more

Applicant Joseph Eryau made a motion to be heard in opposition to Application No. 39/2001. The declarations being sought in the motion of Application No. 39/2001 would state that “smoking in a public place constitutes a violation of the rights of the non-smoking members of the public to a clean and healthy environment as prescribed …Read more

Applicant Joseph Eryau made a motion to be heard in opposition to Application No. 39/2001. Of the five declarations proposed in the motion of Application No. 39/2001, all but two were struck down (including those orders which criminalized smoking in public places). The remaining two proposed that “smoking in a public place constitutes a violation …Read more

Tobacco related diseases caused an estimated eight hundred thousand deaths in India per year, with treatment of tobacco caused diseases resulting in a loss of Rs. 13,500 Crores annually. The World Health Organisation estimated that up to seven million deaths, worldwide, per year were attributable to tobacco related disease, of which sixty million deaths occurred …Read more

The above judgment combined two writ petitions that both dealt with the effect of tobacco advertisements on public health. The Petitioner in Writ Petition No. 1825 of 1999 was Prof. Nurul Islam, President of ADHUNIK (Aamra Dhumpan Nibaron Kori). Section 3 of the Tamakjato Shamogri Biponon Niontroner Jonno Pronito Ain, 1988 provided that all tobacco …Read more