The applicant was sentenced for illegal distribution of tobacco products using a vending machine. A  Royal Decree stated that tobacco products could only be sold in vending machines if the machine was placed in an area where tobacco products were sold in a traditional manner and accessible to consumers.  At the request of the applicant, …Read more

A human rights organization acting on behalf of Sierra Leonean refugees alleged that a national radio address of Guinean President Lasana Conté directing Guinean authorities to arrest, search and confine Sierra Leonean refugees to refugee camps incited soldiers and civilians to engage in attacks that violated provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ …Read more

The Petitioner, the mother of twins who gave birth after a Caesarian operation, conceived for the second time after six years. The Respondent was the Consultant Visiting Obstetrician and Gynecologist of the Kandy General Hospital. She received antenatal care at Hikkaduwa and later went to her sister’s house in Kundasale. However before visiting her sister …Read more

Physician María Teresa De La Cruz Flores was detained on March 27, 1996, and charged with terrorism for providing medical services to members of Sendero Luminoso, a guerrilla group in Peru. She was prosecuted before a secret (“faceless”) judge and sentenced on November 21, 1996, to 20 years in prison under a provision that seven …Read more

The Plaintiff, J.A.O., was a woman living with HIV. The Defendants were her employer (Homepark Caterers), her doctor and hospital. The Plaintiff claimed the doctor and hospital subjected her to an HIV test without her consent, in violation of her constitutional right to privacy. She further claimed that the doctor disclosed her HIV status to her employer without …Read more

The applicant, a United Kingdom national, suffered from severe autism. He was unable to speak, his level of understanding was limited, and he lacked the ability to consent or refuse treatment. For over thirty years he had been cared for in Bournewood Hospital as an in-patient at the Intensive Behavioural Unit after which time he …Read more

An unmarried woman was working as a teacher in a Christian school when she became pregnant. She informed the school authorities with the aim of reaching an agreement regarding the terms of the maternity leave. Instead, the school dismissed her for failing “to live according to Jesus’ teachings on marriage and sex.” The woman subsequently …Read more

The petitioner, an Italian citizen detained by Australian authorities for breach of immigration law, alleged possible violations of family rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) due to his continued detention which led to his mental health deterioration. Initially, when petitioner suffered a mental health deterioration while detained, he was released …Read more

The Applicant, Lemo, was employed by the Respondent, Northern Air Maintenance, as a trainee aircraft engineer. During a period of four years, the Applicant’s health deteriorated considerably. He consistently exhausted his annual and sick leave days and took unpaid leave, often for months at a time, in order to obtain medical assistance. Due to his …Read more

A university student- Mr. Wignall alleged he was a victim of discrimination based on his disability (deafness) when the Department of National Revenue included a portion of the student’s federal grant in the student’s taxable income for the year. A student who suffered from a condition of deafness was required to learn sign language interpretation, …Read more

A group of NGOs lodged a petition with the Commission alleging that Peru violated Maria Mamérita Mestanza Chávez’s rights on account of a forced sterilization that resulted in her death. Peru implemented a family planning policy involving compulsory and systematic sterilization in order to modify the reproductive behavior of the population. Poor, indigenous, and rural …Read more

The Democratic Republic of Congo initiated proceedings before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, alleging that the respondent countries (Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda) committed various human rights violations. The Democratic Republic of Congo alleged that the respondent countries committed multiple massacres against people of the Democratic Republic of Congo including attacking Inga hydroelectric …Read more

After conceiving as a result of a failed sterilization surgery, Karina Rees filed a claim of negligence against the Darlington Memorial NHS Trust (the Trust) to recover the costs of rearing her child. Mrs. Rees suffered from a genetic condition that had left her almost completely blind. She believed that her disability meant that raising …Read more

Police officers entered a private residence in response to a report of a disturbance and came upon two men engaged in a sexual act. The men were arrested for and charged with violating a Texas state criminal law that prohibited “deviate sexual intercourse [defined as oral or anal sex] with another individual of the same sex.” …Read more

Mr. XX filed a tutela action (appeal for legal protection) against the Ministry of National Defence-School of Cadets for expelling him after discovering that he was HIV-positive during a blood donation. The discharge occurred two months before the petitioner was to be promoted to Second Lieutenant. The petitioner had passed all health exams and was found …Read more

The Court of Hungary received several petitions regarding the right of patients suffering from terminal illnesses to end their lives with dignity and consolidated the petitions into a single judgment. One petition asked the Court to declare unconstitutional and annul the last sentence in Section 43, paragraph (2) of Act II of 1972 on Healthcare. …Read more

The French-speaking Community of Belgium’s Decree of February 27, 2003 added a special certification requirement for enrollment in postgraduate healthcare studies beyond the previous requirement that students have a doctor of medicine degree. A transitional measure was planned to grant the special certificates. Petitioners were medical students who challenged the special certificate requirement because they …Read more

The Petitioner was arrested by the police on the mistaken identity as one “Gerrad” who was suspected of having committed a murder. The first Respondent was the Officer-in-charge of the police station while the others were subordinate officers and the 8th Respondent was the Inspector-General of Police. The Petitioner had been taken to the Wattala …Read more

The Bakhtiyaris, Afghani nationals, had illegally entered Australia and had been detained in a detention center. Two of the children were released into the hands of Adelaide caretakers where they remained. The Bakhtiyari family subsequently filed a complaint that their prolonged detention violated article 9 (1) (right to liberty and security of person) of the …Read more

The author challenges the refusal of his visa application as a violation of his right to equality before the law as provided for in article 26 (equal before law) of the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights (the Covenant) in addition to article 2, paragraph 3, (right to remedy); article 14, paragraph 1 (right …Read more

The Applicant, Irvin and Johnson Limited, wished to arrange for the voluntary and anonymous HIV testing of the more than 1,100 employees in its trawling division. The testing was to be based on the principle of informed consent and accompanied by pre- and post-test counselling. However, the age and job category of the tested employee …Read more

D was offered employment by B, a building society, as a security officer, subjecting her to undergoing and passing a full medical examination, including submission of certified documentation as to her HIV status. D began a six month probationary period which finished on 27 August 2002. After some reflection D informed B on 7 October …Read more

Complainants P and M were mental health advocates, who brought the complaint on behalf of patients detained at Campama, a psychiatric unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital, and existing and future mental health patients detained under the Mental Health Acts of the Republic of The Gambia. Complainants alleged that legislation governing mental health in The …Read more

In 1996, the government of India had passed the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1995 (the “PNDT Act”) which was aimed at preventing the misuse of sex determination technology to abort girl children before birth.  Female feticide had become an increasingly frequent practice in India despite the implementations of reforms that attempted …Read more

This case is a writ position challenging the constitutionality of a law that prohibits anyone with more than two living children from holding certain public offices in the Panchayat raj local government system of the state of Haryana. Note that the Panchayat raj system is the traditional local government system of areas in the Indian …Read more

SL, an Austrian national, was born in 1981. SL is a homosexual and submits that he lives in a rural area of Austria where homosexuality is still taboo and suffered from the fact that he could not live his homosexuality openly and – until he reached the age of 18 – could not enter into …Read more