Denying NGOs access to the diaries of judges’ meetings violated the reception and transmission of information. Violation of Article 10 of the ECHR

JUDGMENT Sieć Obywatelska Watchdog Polska v. Poland 21.03.2024 (app. no. 10103/20) see here SUMMARY Attempts by a non-governmental organisation to gain access to the meeting diaries of two judges of the Constitutional Court and the court’s visitors’ diary. The request for information was made in the context of doubts about whether the two judges had […]

The authorities’ refusal to disclose information to a journalist on a matter of public interest violated freedom of expression.

JUDGMENT Zöldi v. Hungary 04.04.2024 (app. no. 49049/18) see here SUMMARY Rejection of an investigative journalist’s request for information on the identity of the grant recipients of two foundations created by the National Bank of Hungary. The applicant sought judicial review of the decisions refusing to disclose the information she requested, but all domestic decisions […]

Institutionalised neglect and psychiatric placement for mildly disabled child in State care illustrates systemic discrimination

JUDGMENT V.I. v. the Republic of Moldova 26.03.2024 (app. no. 38963/18) see here SUMMARY The case of V.I. v. the Republic of Moldova (application no. 38963/18) concerned the placement of an orphan who was perceived to have a mild intellectual disability in a psychiatric hospital against his will. He was under the care of the […]

Arbitrary dismissal of a judge from a judicial council without the right to appeal against the decision. Infringement of the right of access to a court

JUDGMENT Kartal v. Turkey 26.03.2024 (app. no. 54699/14) see here SUMMARY The applicant is a judge and has served as a member of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Review Board. The case concerned the termination of his term of office on the Board of Review under amendments to the legislation of the defendant State. He filled […]

The failure to transmit the other parties’ observations to the applicant violated due process and fair trial

JUDGMENT Rebac v. Bosnia and Herzegovina 26.03.2024 (app. no. 31832/20) see here SUMMARY In the proceedings before the Constitutional Court, the applicant was not given the opportunity to comment on the observations of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Posavina and the Municipal Court of Orašje, because this was not provided for by the […]

Child’s return to father in Japan under the Hague Convention did not breach mother’s right to respect for family life

JUDGMENT Verhoeven v. France 28.03.2024 (app. no. 19664/20) see here SUMMARY The case concerned the decision of the French courts to order the return of the applicant’s son to Japan under the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The applicant, a French national, had married a Japanese […]

The refusal of the courts to examine the merits of the application for partial annulment of the order deprived the applicant of the right of access to a court in breach of Article 6 ECHR

JUDGMENT Hovanisyan v. Armenia 26.03.2024 (app. no. 16480/13) see here SUMMARY Grant of a plot of land to the applicant, for which a provisional certificate of ownership was issued and a certificate of state registration of title was pending. The applicant applied for registration of his title to the National Land Registry, but was refused […]

The size of the criminal conviction against the defendant for defamation of a lawyer and law firm for his comments on a television show was disproportionate. Violation of freedom of expression

JUDGMENT Almeida Arroja v. Portugal 19.03.2024 (app. no. 47238/19) see here SUMMARY The case concerned Mr Almeida Arroja’s criminal conviction for aggravated defamation and causing offence to a legal entity. He had implied, during a broadcast on the television channel Porto Canal, that a legal opinion provided to a public hospital by a law firm, […]

Denial of parental leave to a male police officer despite being the sole parent caring for a newborn. Conviction for prohibited discrimination and violation of family life

JUDGMENT Β.Τ. v. Russia 19.03.2024 ( app. no. 15284/2019) see here SUMMARY The applicant, a police officer, applied for parental leave after the birth of his daughter. The child’s mother, who was hospitalized, refused to care for the infant and the applicant was left as the only parent responsible for the care of the child. […]

Dissolution of an association because its name contained an unrecognised nationality. Violation of freedom of association

JUDGMENT Association of People of Silesian Nationality v. Poland 14.03.2024 (app. no. 22415/22) see here SUMMARY The applicant, Association of People of Silesian Nationality, is an association, which was registered in 2011 and went into liquidation in 2016. Silesia is a historic region currently located in south-western Poland. According to the 2011 census nearly half […]