Finn (F) was arrested in 1987 and alleged that he was beaten on his way to the police lock up. He also alleged that threats were then made against his life and that he was given no medical treatment. F claimed that complaints about this ill treatment were not responded to. He was charged, together …Read more

Respondents, physicians operating in New York and gravelly-ill patients (who had died prior to the appeal), asserted that, though it was consistent with the standards of medical practice to “prescribe lethal medication for ‘mentally competent, terminally ill patients’ who are suffering great pain and desire a doctor’s help in taking their own lives, they [were] …Read more

Under the Wash. Rev. Code §9A36.060 (1) it was a crime to cause or aid another person to commit suicide. In 1996, a lower court struck down this law on the basis it violated an individual’s constitutionally protected right to choose the time and manner of death. The petitioners, the State of Washington and its …Read more

Three doctors challenged the Medical Services Commission of British Columbia’s (“the Commission’s”) variable fee-for-service rates, which were based on province of residence and physician seniority. In 1994, the Commission enacted interim measures under which new billers (medical practitioners who applied to the Commission after February 11, 1994) were issued restricted billing numbers. New billers were …Read more

This case involved a challenge to a decision of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Mental Health Tribunal. The ACT Supreme Court set aside an order to detain and administer psychiatric treatment to Geraldine Patricia Burnett, a 38 year old woman who suffered from a mild psychotic disorder. Burnett had at various times been taken into …Read more

Applicant was a British national suffering from mental illness whilst on prison remand in 1984. He had served sentences for various physical assault convictions. The court imposed a hospital order on the applicant and subjected him to a heightened restriction order for the protection of the public from serious harm under the 1983 Mental Health …Read more

Mentes (M), T1, T2 and U lived in a village in south-east Turkey, the first three in its lower neighbourhood and the fourth in a separate hamlet. Since 1985 serious disturbances had raged in this part of the country between the security forces and the members of a Kurdish separatist party. Turkey claimed that these …Read more

The respondent was five months pregnant with her fourth child and addicted to glue sniffing, which is known to be potentially damaging to the nervous system of a developing fetus. Two of her previous children were born permanently disabled as a result of her addiction and were permanent wards of the state. A judge of …Read more

Various communications alleged that: (1) Burundian nationals, who had been refugees in Rwanda for several years, were told they had one month to leave the country as they were considered national risks risks due to their “subversive activities”. The refugees were not able to challenge the expulsion in court (2) arbitrary arrests and summary executions …Read more

Aksoy (A) claimed that in November 1992 he was taken into custody by twenty policemen after M (another detainee with them) had allegedly identified him as a member of the PKK which was engaged in a conflict with security forces for Kurdish autonomy. This conflict had resulted in nearly 8,000 deaths and there was a …Read more

Tshishimbi (T) had been a military adviser and bodyguard for the prime minister in a government politically opposed to the president. Members of the government and their advisors had been subjected to constant surveillance, harassment and bullying from military and paramilitary groups loyal to the president. T was abducted in March 1993, although the exact …Read more

The first respondent had obtained a default judgment against the applicant and a warrant of execution against his property in respect of a debt but was unable to satisfy the judgment debt because the applicant had by that time divested himself of all property. The first respondent then took out a summons calling upon the …Read more

Silva Rocha (S) was remanded in custody after a dispute with a neighbor following which the latter died. He was committed for trial on charges of aggravated homicide and illegal possession of weapons and the criminal court found in July 1990 that the established facts constituted these offences. However, it concluded from the medical evidence …Read more

Members of the World Organization Against Torture filed Communication 25/89 with the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights (‘the Commission’) in March 1989 alleging torture of 15 detained persons by a military unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo (‘the DRC’). The Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights in New York filed Communication 47/90 with …Read more

The Petitioner, Legal and Environmental Analysis for Development and Research Services (Pvt.) Ltd. (LEADERS Inc) was a company that conducted research on environmental issues and promoted conservation. One of the Respondents, Godavari Marble Industries, was engaged in marble masonry. The Petitioner contended that the activities of the Respondent, including blasting and mining, were causing severe …Read more

The petitioner, a Canadian citizen, was arrested along with two acquaintances when the group attempted to enter Spain with large quantities of hashish concealed in their vehicle. The petitioner claimed to have no knowledge of the contraband, and his acquaintances also told police that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the examining magistrate incarcerated …Read more

The appellant parents of a premature baby objected on religious grounds to their child being given a blood transfusion, despite medical opinion that such treatment might be necessary to save the baby’s life. The Provincial Court granted the respondent Society temporary wardship of the baby pursuant to the Child Welfare Act, and a blood transfusion …Read more

The Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo moto cognizance of a news report in the English daily “Dawn” titled “N-Waste to be dumped in Balochistan?” The article stated that coastal areas in the Balochistan region were being acquired for the purposes of dumping nuclear and industrial waste. The Court had earlier directed the Chief Secretary …Read more

Nicholas Toonen was a gay man, HIV/AIDS activist, and LGBT rights activist living in Tasmania. Tasmania criminalized same-sex sexual conduct among men under ss 122 and 123 its criminal code; it was the last remaining state or territory of Australia to do so, the remainder having repealed such laws. Toonen brought a communication before the …Read more

The Appellant, Doe, a prisoner incarcerated in Kentucky, brought this challenge alleging his constitutional rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated by Policy 13.5 (the Policy), a Kentucky rule which restricted the eligibility of inmates for “at-request” HIV testing. In January 1989, at an initial medical screening following his incarceration, Doe requested that …Read more

The applicant, a British citizen, claimed violations of sections one and four of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the “Convention”) related to his involuntary recall to medical detention by the Home Secretary. In 1970, the applicant raped and killed his twelve year old neighbor. In January of 1971, the applicant pled …Read more

The applicant was serving a sentence of life imprisonment in HM Prison Stocken.  He had been convicted of the murder of an elderly man in 1972 and received a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.  The applicant’s sentence was reviewed by the Parole Board in or about 1984. A release date was apparently set and he …Read more

In a communication submitted to the United Nations Humans Right Committee (“UNHRC”), Yvonne M’Boissona asserted that her brother, François Bozize, led a coup d’état in the Central African Republic in 1982. After fleeing the country, he was arrested in July 1989 in Benin, repatriated to the Central African Republic by force, and imprisoned at a …Read more

El-Megreisi (E) alleged that his family home was searched at dawn by the security police and that his brother, having been asked to leave with them to assist in an unspecified security matter, never returned. He also alleged that after over three years had elapsed, his brother’s wife was allowed to visit him in a …Read more

Section 251(4) of the Criminal Code of Canada (the Code) permitted abortions to be performed only at accredited hospitals and then with approval from the performing hospital’s therapeutic abortion committee. Drs. Morgentaler, Smoling, and Scott had together established an abortion clinic in Toronto to perform abortions not approved by a therapeutic abortion committee.  Following public …Read more

Kanana Tshiongo A Minanga (K), a founder of a political party opposed to the governing regime of President Mobutu, complained that he was taken by members of the Zairian defense forces to the headquarters of the political police supposedly to meet the director and then held overnight without any reason being given. While there, he …Read more

Planned Parenthood brought suit challenging the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act of 1982 (the Act) in federal court on constitutional grounds. The Act included the following requirements for women seeking an abortion in Pennsylvania: A woman seeking an abortion must give her informed consent prior to the abortion procedure, and she must provide certain information at …Read more

Applicant, a Hungarian national, served a prison sentence during which he assaulted prison officers, other detainees and threatened judges. He served a six-month pre-detention period in a facility for mentally ill offenders where he remained until his conditional release. He claims that his rights pursuant to Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights …Read more

The applicant, a Hungarian citizen living in Germany, was detained in a psychiatric hospital based on the finding that he had performed acts which constituted criminal offences but for which he could not be held responsible because he was mentally disabled. The applicant instituted numerous proceedings concerning the review of his detention without representation by …Read more

Parkes attacked his parents-in-law at their home. The attack resulted into the death of one and severe injury to the other. After the attack, he drove to a police station to report what he had done. Parkes was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. At trial, his defense was automatism i.e. sleep walking. He …Read more