Section 15 of the Health Insurance Act (HEIA) and s. 11 of the Hospital Insurance Act (HOIA) prohibited Quebec residents from taking out private health insurance for services covered by Quebec’s public health care plan. The two Appellants, Jacques Chaoulli and George Zeliotis, contested the validity of this prohibition.  They alleged that these prohibitions deprived …Read more

The Competition Commissioner initiated a complaint and undertook an investigation into an alleged prohibited practice by the Respondent, Board of Healthcare Funders of Southern Africa. Respondent was an association that represented approximately 85% of medical aid schemes in South Africa that, among other things, determined, recommended and published benchmark tariffs for health care services annually. …Read more

The case was brought by a Lebanese citizen who had come to the UK in order to seek asylum for herself and her two children on the basis of persecution for her religious beliefs. Her claim for asylum on this ground was rejected, but she challenged her removal on the basis that removal would result …Read more

Applicants, residents of Iwherekan community in the Delta State of Nigeria, applied for an order enforcing their fundamental right to life and dignity of human person as provided by sections 22(1) and 34(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (the “Constitution”) and articles 4, 16, and 24 of the African Charter …Read more

The decision addressed three petitions with similar facts. In all three cases, the petitioners were diagnosed with cancer and prescribed a medication not included in the health services basket available under the national health care services (which was prohibitively expensive to purchase individually). By the time two of the petitions came to the Court, however, …Read more

The Health (Amendment) (No.2) Bill of 2004 was referred to the Supreme Court for review. Primarily the Supreme Court was asked to analyse the constitutional validity of the bill. Amendment to Section 53 of the Act imposed certain charges mostly on elderly people with limited means for in-patient treatment by public health services. Further, the …Read more

K.L was a 17 year old pregnant woman who was denied an abortion despite complications in her pregnancy. The foetus was anencephalic. Peruvian abortion laws allowed abortions in case there was a danger to the life or health of the mother. Anencephalic condition posed a life-threatening risk to K.L. The baby died after four days …Read more

KS Mathew, the Petitioner, was a Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Supplies when he retired. He was entitled to free medical aid under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). After suffering a heart attack in 2001, he was admitted to Escort Heart Institute and Research Centre (EHIRC). EHIRC was a recognized hospital under …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

This is a complaint by a Finnish citizen in need of medical care in Germany, who asserts that Finnish authorities have breached certain duties and failed to provide him access to medical care. The complainant was admitted in November 2004 to a hospital in Germany. While in the hospital, he was contacted by the Social …Read more