50 Cases Where the European Court of Human Rights made a real difference

Adam Wagner on the brilliant Human Rights Info Blog has compiled a list of 50 important cases decided by the European Court of Human Rights.

Any list inherently leaves out others that could have been included but it is a good selection that easily gives anyone who is unfamiliar with the court and idea of what it does for the people of Europe.

The classic nationalist objection is that “our country could do that anyway“. The point is that at least one country in the Council of Europe did not do so and someone had to seek the court’s protection.

In some of the cases the decision is not necessarily the last word. For example, in the infamous and widely misrepresented Hirst v UK case the court did not say that all prisoners must vote but that a blanket ban was unsustainable and Parliament should legislate to take account of the different reasons why people can be in prison.

Here is the list of 50 cases:

No.	Case	Year	Summary
1	A and others	2004	You can’t imprison people without charge
2	Goodwin	2005	Journalists’ sources must be protected
3	Smith and Grady	1999	Openly gay soldiers can serve in the Armed Forces
4	Dudgeon	1981	Being gay is not a crime
5	Pretty	2002	Criminalising assisted suicide doesn’t breach human rights
6	S and Marper	2008	Police can’t keep DNA of acquitted people forever
7	Ghaidan	2004	Gay people are treated equally in inheritance matters
8	Sunday Times	1979	Newspapers have freedom to report legal cases if in the public interest
9	Hirst	2005	You can’t ban every prisoner from voting
10	Peck	2003	A council shouldn’t have given CCTV suicide footage to the media
11	Daly	2001	We’ve a right to private legal correspondence, even in jail
12	Soering	1989	The Risk of inhuman death row conditions stopped a man’s extradition
13	Gillan and Quinton	2010	Police stop and search powers can’t be limitlless
14	Laporte	2006	Police shouldn’t have stopped war protest bus
15	McCann	1995	The security services can’t shoot to kill without good reason
16	Malone	1984	Police need a warrant to tap our phones
17	Rabone	2012	Hospitals must protect vulnerable patients at risk of suicide
18	Golder	1975	Prisoners must be able to contact their solicitors
19	Chahal	1996	You can’t be sent back to a real risk of torture
20	Tyrer	1978	Caning a child is wrong
21	Naomi Campbell	2004	A supermodel’s privacy was breached by a tabloid rehab scoop
22	Abu Qatada	2012	Everyone has protection from torture and unfair trials, including suspected terrorists
23	HJ (Iran)	2010	Gay and lesbian people can’t be returned to persecution
24	Bernard	2002	Councils must provide adequate housing for the disabled
25	Ireland v UK	1978	Deep interrogation’ techniques are inhuman and degrading
26	HL	2004	Mental health detention needs proper safeguards
27	Simms	1999	Journalists must be able to interview prisoners
28	Cheshire West	2014	Mentally incapacitated people have same rights to liberty as everyone else
29	Handyside	1976	Offensive ideas need to be protected too
30	Z v UK	2001	Local authorities can be legally liable for child abuse where they have failed to act
31	Austin	2009	The police can “kettle” demonstrators to keep the peace
32	DSD	2014	Police must investigate rape claims
33	YL	2007	Private residential care homes should be protected by human rights laws
34	Al-Jedda	2011	Even the Army can’t imprison without charge forever
35	A v UK	1998	You can’t beat up your child
36	Liberty	2008	The Government can’t have unlimited spying powers
37	Eweida	2013	Employers must respect religious beliefs
38	Pincohet	1999	Public officials can’t hide behind immunity in war crimes cases
39	L	2013	You’re not responsible for crimes forced to commit when trafficked
40	Somerset	1772	Slavery is odious
41	Osman	1998	The police have a duty to protect our right to life
42	Christine Goodwin	2002	Transsexuals can marry who they like
43	Nicklinson	2014	Assisting suicide is still a crime, but watch this space
44	RH	2001	You can’t be detained without medical proof of why
45	ZH (Tanzania)	2011	Children’s views are key in deportation cases
46	Vinter	2012	Whole life’ sentences must be reviewable
47	T & R	2014	The police can’t keep you on their database for ever
48	Savage	2008	The state must do all it can to protect potential suicide victims
49	Steven Neary	2011	Families and disabled people have a say on decisions about care
50	European Roma Rights Centre	2004	There can be no race barriers to asylum

* Antony Hook was #2 on the South East European list in 2014, is the English Party's representative on the Federal Executive and produces this sites EU Referendum Roundup.

Love is Enough surges into iTunes top 10

ALDC’s by-election report – 28 November 2024

Ed Davey aims for Christmas Number 1

Mark Pack: How to lose votes