The applicant’s late wife suffered from total sensorimotor quadriplegia. The couple requested the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (the “Federal Institute”) grant her authorization to obtain a lethal dose of pentobarbital of sodium so she could commit suicide. The Federal Institute refused the request on the grounds that the German Narcotics Act …Read more

The plaintiffs, 1200 women filing a joint tutela, seek constitutional protection against false information being spread by the Attorney General of Colombia regarding emergency contraception. The Attorney General stated that emergency contraceptive that contained Levonorgestrel was an abortificant as the contraceptive can prevent implantation of a fertilized egg on to the walls of the uterus. …Read more

The petitioners claimed that the lack of provision of basic health maternal commodities in Government Health Facilities and the negligent, unethical behavior of health workers toward expectant mothers in those facilities resulted in violations of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (the “Constitution”). Specifically, the petitioners claimed violations of the right to health and …Read more

Aventis, a pharmaceutical company, applied for a preliminary injunction against infringement of its patent on its cancer drug Taxotere in order to restrain Cipla, an Indian pharmaceutical company, from importing, manufacturing or selling Cipla’s generic equivalent of the drug. Prior to this, Cipla had applied for revocation of Aventis’ amended patent on a number of …Read more

The applicants had terminal cancer, and all had either tried forms of conventional medicine (e.g. surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy) or obtained a medical opinion that these treatments would not work for their illness. They then approached a private client in Sofia where they were told about an experimental anti-cancer product in development by …Read more

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

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

The applicant was a citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who entered Canada on a visitor visa, and remained in Canada illegally after his visa had expired. During this time, he was hospitalized after losing his eyesight and memory. He was diagnosed with a benign tumor affecting his brain and pituitary gland. The tumor …Read more

The Minister of Health and Social Services issued regulations for the Medicines Act that created a licensing scheme for medical practitioners to be able to continue to dispense certain medicine. It also established a three-month transitional grace period, where medical practitioners already dispensing medicine could apply for the license and continue dispensing medicine while their …Read more

The petitioners were Kenyan citizens living with HIV/AIDS. They petitioned seeking a declaration that the fundamental rights of life, human dignity and health as protected and envisaged by the Constitution, encompassed access to affordable and essential drugs and medicines, including generic HIV/AIDS drugs. The petitioners also sought a declaration that the Anti-Counterfeit Act, 2008 and …Read more