Argentina’s Human Rights Ombudsman brought a claim against the National Government and the Province of Chaco to force Respondents to take the necessary measures to improve the deleterious living conditions of an indigenous community in Chaco that amounted to circumstances of extreme emergency. The Ombudsman claimed that the community lacked fundamental and basic necessities as …Read more

The author of the communication was the wife of the alleged victim, a Cameroon citizen. The author alleged that a group of police officers broke into her house without a warrant, claiming to be looking for a gun,  and began beating her husband (as well as battering the author, who was in an advanced state …Read more

E.E., an adult, was in a car accident in 1992. As a result of this accident, she entered into an irreversible vegetative coma. E.E. was not clinically dead, defined as the “irreversible  cessation  of  all  encephalon  functions,” but was clinically in a permanent vegetative state (PVS). She was kept alive through force-feeding by means of …Read more

This case has been affirmed on appeal to the Supreme Court of Cassation. The Plaintiff was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998. As part of her treatment, she was prescribed hormone medication and received a mastectomy. At one point, she was prescribed Zoladex, which which causes temporary cessation of ovarian function. . Although prescribed this medication, …Read more

Applicant, a Croatian prisoner, alleged that the prison authorities violated her rights under Article 3 of the Convention because she was not provided with adequate medical treatment and necessary medical check-ups for her illness (chronic hepatitis), nor did she receive an adequate diet or sufficient opportunity to take necessary rest. Consequently, she lost control over …Read more

The plaintiffs were residents of a group of islands heavily affected by the 2004 tsunami. They argued that they were facing a number of problems which the local administration could take steps to mitigate and that the problems required immediate governmental action. They argued that, while there were relief funds, these funds were not being …Read more

The applicant, Mr. Tudor Ciorap, was incarcerated in a remand centre in Moldova after being arrested on fraud charges. Mr. Ciorap alleged that the conditions of the prison were inhuman as a result of overcrowding (e.g. 1 m2 per person), poor sanitary conditions (e.g. the presence of parasitic insects), and low quantity and quality of …Read more

The Moldovan Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested Mr. Gheorghe Stepuleac and detained him at the General Directorate for Fighting Organized Crime’s (“GDFOC”) detention centre. Following his release on bail, the Ministry again arrested and detained Mr. Stepuleac at the same detention centre. During his detention Mr. Stepuleac alleged he had inadequate access to food, sunlight, …Read more

The applicant, a politician was arrested and detained in a detention centre. He was accused of treason and use of armed forces against the State. The applicant absconded and went into hiding but was caught and arrested. The applicant alleged that he was ill-treated and not allowed to see a doctor during the period of …Read more

The case concerned the welfare of an Accused who undertook a hunger strike while one of his appeals was pending. The Accused was self-represented and displayed significant disdain for the proceedings of the Tribunal. On July 4, 2006, the Tribunal made a decision as to the production and availability of documents to the Accused, stipulating …Read more

Six individuals took their case to the European Court of Human Rights against Bosnia and Herzegovina for failing to assist them during their removal to and detention at Guantanamo Bay. Lakhdar Boumediene, Hadj Boudelaa, Mustafa Ait Idir, Mohamed Nechla, Belkacem Bensayah and Saber Lahmar were all detained at Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of having planned …Read more

The Sawhoyamaxa, an indigenous community in Paraguay brought the case against the Paraguayan government for failing to ensure their ancestral property right.  The Sawhoyamaxa’s claim for territorial rights had been pending since 1991.  The lands at issue constituted their traditional habitat suitable for their subsistence activities, consisting of hunting, fishing, and gathering. The lands claimed …Read more

The claimants were three men detained in Guantanamo Bay prison and their families. None of the claimants were British nationals, but each had been a long-term resident of the United Kingdom and two had family members who were UK citizens. Two of the claimants were refugees who has received asylum in the UK. Whilst in …Read more

In March 2002, the Botswana Government terminated certain basic services to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), including access to: Drinking water; Maintenance of borehole water; Rations to registered destitute; Rations to registered orphans; Transport for the applicants’ children to and from school; and Healthcare to the applicants through mobile clinics and ambulance services. The …Read more

During the conflict between armed groups and government forces that lasted from the 1980s until 2000, the government of Alberto Fujimori issued a law decree on April 6, 1992, ordering “the reorganization of the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) and put[ting] the National Police of Peru in charge of the control of security at the penitentiaries.” …Read more

Brun claimed a violation of Article 2 (right to remedy), Article 6 (right to life) and Article 17 (right to privacy) of the International Covenant Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Brun argued that Article 17 should be interpreted to include the right to live in a healthy environment. He had been sentenced for demonstrating against …Read more

Plaintiff filed a guarantee of protection of individual constitutional rights (amparo protection) against the Province of Buenos Aires and the Federal State  alleging that, due to omissions attributable to both states, her children suffered from malnutrition. She requested that the Court issue a provisional measure ordering the respondents to promptly satisfy the most basic nutritional and …Read more

The Petitioner, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), a public interest NGO,  alleged that the Respondents (which included salt manufacturers and the Government) had violated the Iodine Deficiency Diseases Prevention Act, 1989 (the Act). The Act required edible salt to be iodised before sale, in order to combat iodine deficiency diseases such as goitre …Read more

Petitioners, leaders of the Yakye Axa indigenous community of the Enxet-Lengua people, filed suit against the Republic of Paraguay alleging violations articles 4 (right to life) and 25 (right to judicial Protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). They further alleged that Paraguay ignored article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil …Read more

Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (‘the Act’) authorized the Home Secretary to provide or arrange for the provision of support for asylum-seekers and their dependents who appeared to be destitute, as defined, or likely to become so within a prescribed period. L, A and T, from Angola, Ethiopia and the Sudan …Read more

This was a civil appeal regarding the conditions in Zimbabwe’s police holding cells. The first and second Applicants, Kachingwe and Chibebe, were arrested by the police, with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights serving as the third Applicant. The first Applicant was detained in a police cell overnight. The second Applicant was detained for two days. …Read more

The indigenous community of Yakye Axa, a traditional society of hunter-gatherers, was resettled as part of a development program in Paraguay started in 1979. They were displaced to lands with a natural environment and resources that were different from the Yakye Axa’s traditional territory and incompatible with their traditional means of subsistence.  They also faced …Read more

The Human Rights Committee (the “Committee”) joined two communications which referred to the same facts. The first communication concerned Patricio Ndong Bee who was a prisoner in Black Beach Prison on behalf of himself and four other inmates who were being held incommunicado. The second communication was filed by the wife of yet another prisoner …Read more

Plaintiffs, Ashley Pelman and Jazlen Bradley, brought suit against defendant, McDonald’s Corporation, for violating Section 349 and 350 of the New York General Business Law, known commonly as the New York Protection Act between 1987 and 2002 on three counts. Count I claimed that the effect of McDonald’s promotions was to create the false impression …Read more

The case concerned a claim that the sale of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola carbonated beverages should be banned on the account that they are contaminated with pesticide residue and suspended impurities and are therefore harmful to human life. The petitioners relied on the report published by the Centre for Science and Environment (“CSE”), which conducted an …Read more

This case was brought by the Public Advocate of Victoria as limited guardian of BWV, a woman aged 68 years, suffering from a fatal form of dementia (most likely Pick’s disease). At the time of bringing the case, BWV had not appeared conscious, nor had she had any cortical activity for approximately three years. Evidence …Read more

Applicant Mykola Khokhlich, a death row inmate at Khmelnitskuy Prison, alleged that conditions at the prison amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. The applicant had been convicted of murder in February of 1996 and sentenced to execution; his sentence was later commuted to be life imprisonment. The applicant was diagnosed with tuberculosis in September 1997, …Read more

The applicant was arrested and detained in Krasnodar, Russia and was transferred to a detention facility. The applicant was convicted of conspiring and carrying out organized crime, aiding and abetting and attempting murder. He was sentence to death by the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court. On the same day he was moved to cells …Read more

Paul Lallion appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleging that his death penalty sentencing and appeal process, as well as the prison conditions he was subjected to during this process, violated Articles 4 (right to life), 5 (right to humane treatment), 7 (right to personal liberty), 8 (right to a fair trial), and …Read more