European Court of Human Rights

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Champion Runner Caster Semenya Gives Up Her Fight

She abandons her 7-year legal fight against sex eligibility rules in track and field

(Newser) - Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya is ending a seven-year legal challenge against sex eligibility rules in track and field, her lawyers said Thursday, despite winning a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights in July. Patrick Bracher, a lawyer for Semenya, said in an email to the AP that...

Human Rights Court Gives a Win to Caster Semenya

Judges say Olympic champion runner did not get fair hearing in Switzerland

(Newser) - Two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya won a partial victory at the European Court of Human Rights on Thursday in her seven-year legal fight against track and field's sex eligibility rules. The court's 17-judge highest chamber said in a 15-2 vote that Semenya had some of her rights...

European Court: Russia Was Behind Downing of MH17

It delivers judgments against Russia in four cases brought by Ukraine

(Newser) - Europe's top human rights court delivered damning judgments Wednesday against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands accusing Moscow of atrocities in Ukraine dating back more than a decade—among them the downing of Flight MH17. Reading the decisions in a packed courtroom in Strasbourg, Court...

Court: Wife Who Refused Sex Not to Blame for Divorce

ECHR rules in favor of Frenchwoman who absorbed all the blame during divorce proceedings in 2012

(Newser) - It's been 13 years since a French couple sought to end their marriage, but their legal case has just now wrapped up—with the wife finally vindicated by Europe's highest human-rights court of being the sole cause of their marital demise. The BBC reports that the 69-year-old Frenchwoman...

Switzerland Sued Over Climate Inaction: 'This Is Huge'

2K older women had brought case over effects of heat waves to EU's high court for human rights

(Newser) - The European Court of Human Rights is holding an entire nation accountable for its tepid action against climate change, issuing a "landmark ruling" on Tuesday that Switzerland's lack of appropriate action violates its citizens' human rights, per the New York Times . "This is huge," University of...

Archie Battersbee Dies After Being Taken Off Life Support

Parents of 12-year-old, in coma since April, waged unsuccessful battle to keep him on life support

(Newser) - Update: Archie Battersbee, the 12-year-old British boy whose parents fought to keep him on life support, has died, reports the Independent . Per Sky News , a spokeswoman for the family said Archie, who'd been in a coma since April, was taken off his medication at Royal London Hospital at 10am...

Man Cut Off Wife's Hands, and Court Tells Russia to Pay

European Court of Human Rights weighed in on Tuesday

(Newser) - A woman suffered an unthinkable crime committed by her husband, and now Russia will pay, quite literally. Margarita Gracheva was kidnapped by her then-husband in December 2017; he took her into a forest, struck her at least 40 times with an ax, and cut off her hands, per the CBC...

Court Rules Sex Still Matters for Women Over 50

Case involved a woman who underwent a botched gynecological surgery

(Newser) - A less ordinary ruling out of Europe on Tuesday: The continent's Court of Human Rights found that three Portuguese judges erred in deciding that sex is less important for older women, reports the AP . The case involves Maria Morais, a then-50-year-old who in 1995 underwent a gynecological surgery after...

Web Sites Liable for Anonymous User Comments: EU Court

Newser editors terrified

(Newser) - Web sites can be held legally liable for anonymous user comments posted on them, the European Court of Human Rights declared yesterday, in a ruling sure to terrify news sites everywhere. The case revolves around the Estonian news site Delfi, which in 2006 posted an unflattering article about a ferry...

Euro Court Slams CIA for Sodomy, Torture of Innocent

Meanwhile, Senate committee OKs report on CIA's interrogation program

(Newser) - The European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday against Macedonia for allowing the torture of an innocent German man of Lebanese origins by the CIA in 2004—but the real brunt of the ruling hit the CIA's post-9/11 "war on terror" strategies, with the court explicitly calling them...

Europe to Couple: Incest Is Not a Human Right

German argued ban interferes with his private life

(Newser) - Incest is not a human right, a European court has ruled. The not-surprising decision was passed down yesterday by the International European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, in response to a suit by a German man who has had four children with his biological sister. Dad Patrick Stuebing,...

Officials Oppose Right to Wear Crucifix at Work

British government ready to argue case in European court

(Newser) - Christians have no legal right to openly wear a crucifix at work, say British officials—who are planning to argue their case in court. In a landmark legal battle, Britain's government announced it will side against two women who say they were laid off or sidelined for sporting Christian...

First French Women Fined for Wearing Veils

Veiled woman running for president of France

(Newser) - Two French women have received the country's first fines for wearing a full-face veil—and they hope the fines will be the first nail in the coffin of the ban. The Muslim women, who were fined more than $100 each after wearing the veils while trying to deliver a...

Irish Abortion Ban Violates Women's Rights: EU Court

Woman undergoing chemo was unable to get abortion

(Newser) - The European Court of Human Rights today ruled that Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion violates a woman’s right to proper medical care in life-threatening cases. The Strasbourg, France-based court awarded $20,000 in damages to a Lithuanian woman living in Ireland who was undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer...

Italy Battles to Save Crosses in Classroom

Europe says they violate freedom, Italy says they're culture

(Newser) - Italy is fighting a court ruling that bans crucifixes from classrooms. After a secular Italian woman sued to have crucifixes removed from her sons' classrooms, Italian courts said the cross belonged there as a symbol of Italy's culture and history. The European Court of Human Rights disagreed, ruling religious symbols...

EU Court Labels Sex Trafficking As Slavery

Panel slams Russia, Cyprus in death of 20-year-old woman

(Newser) - Sex trafficking constitutes slavery and is a violation of treaties demanding action to stop the crime, an EU court has ruled. It's the first time the EU Human Rights Court has outlined the responsibilities of authorities in cracking down on the crime. If police have a "credible suspicion" that...

Court Bans Crucifixes in Italian Classrooms

Government plans to appeal European decision

(Newser) - A European court has ruled that the presence of crucifixes in Italian classrooms violates religious freedom. In a decision denounced by Italian politicians, the court said the compulsory display of the crucifix prevents parents from raising kids with the religion of their choice and restricts the "right of children...

Turkey Loses Milestone Gender Case
Turkey Loses Milestone Gender Case
Jun 10, 2009 8:02 AM CDT

Turkey Loses Milestone Gender Case

Domestic violence ruling marks women's rights breakthrough

(Newser) - Europe’s human rights court has ruled against Turkey in a key gender-discrimination case, holding that the country was too lenient toward a man who attacked his wife and killed his mother-in-law. The case marks the first time the Court of Human Rights has labeled such a case gender discrimination,...

Bin Laden Ally Wins Settlement For Human Rights Breach

Cleric gets $3,600 for wrongful detention

(Newser) - A radical Muslim cleric who has been ordered to leave Britain has won $3,600 from Europe's top court, which ruled his detention without trial after 9/11 violated his human rights. Abu Qatada was cleared for deportation yesterday despite fears he may be tortured in his native Jordan, the Times ...

Lesbian Islanders Lose Lesbian Lawsuit

They demanded exclusive rights to call themselves Lesbians

(Newser) - Residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have lost a legal battle to block the use of the word lesbian to describe a sexual preference. An Athens court threw out a lawsuit an islander filed against a Greek gay rights group with lesbian in its name, arguing that  they have...

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