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‘Abduction of Europa’ (Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Amsterdam - 1632 - fragment)

vrijdag 25 april 2014

This week in Strasbourg - A roundup of the European Court of Human Rights' case law - 2014 week 17


Dedovshchina (Russian: дедовщи́на, lit. grandfatherism) is the informal system of subjection (see:hazing) of new junior conscripts, formerly to the Soviet Armed Forces and today to the Russian armed forces, Internal Troops, and (to a much lesser extent) FSB Border Guards, as well as the military forces of certain former Soviet Republics, to brutalization by the conscripts serving their last year of compulsory military service as well as NCOs and officers. Dedovshchina involves a spectrum of subordinating or humiliating activities performed by the junior ranks: from carrying out chores of the senior ranks to violent and sometimes lethal physical and psychological abuse, being not unlike an extremely vicious form of bullying or even torture. It is often cited as a major source of poor morale in the ranks. Often with the justification of maintaining authority, physical violence or psychological abuse can be applied to make “youth” to do certain fatigue duties. In many situations, hazing is in fact not the goal. Conscripts with "seniority" exploit their juniors to provide themselves with a more comfortable existence, and the violent aspects arise when juniors refuse to "follow traditions".There have been occasions where soldiers have been seriously injured. In extraordinary situations, there is a lethal outcome. Source

In its Chamber judgment in the case of Perevedentsevy v. Russia the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that Russian authorities failed to protect new recruit – found hanged during his military service – whose life had been at risk due to bullying in the army (violations of Article 2 (right to life and investigation) of the European Convention on Human Rights.The case concerned the death of a 19-year old conscript, Mikhail Perevedentsev, during his military service. His parents, the applicants in the case, do not believe that their son committed suicide, alleging that bullying – under a system called dedovshchina – in the army from more senior conscripts, including extortion, beatings and sleep deprivation, had to have played a part in his
death.

donderdag 17 april 2014

This week in Strasbourg - A roundup of the European Court of Human Rights' case law - 2014 week 16




Tree judgments concerning elections and freedom of speech this week. In the case of Brosa v. Germany held that an injunction against distribution of leaflet in local election campaign warning of allegedly extreme right-wing candidate was unjustified. The case concerned a court injunction prohibiting Mr Brosa from distributing a leaflet in which he called not to vote for a candidate for local mayor who allegedly provided cover for a neo-Nazi organisation. (Violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the Convention. The Court held in particular that the German courts had failed to establish that it was necessary to put the protection of the candidate’s personality rights above Mr Brosa’s freedom of expression.
“34.  The Court emphasises at the outset that freedom of expression, as guaranteed in Article 10 § 1 of the Convention, constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and for each individual’s self-fulfilment. Pursuant to Article 10 § 2, it is applicable not only to "information" or "ideas" that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb. (-).

vrijdag 11 april 2014

This week in Strasbourg - A roundup of the European Court of Human Rights' case law - 2014 week 15



DISCRIMINATION (NATIONALITY) - In the case of Dhahbi v. Italy the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that An immigrant worker of Tunisian origin should not have been deprived of a household allowance on the sole ground of nationality. The Court therefore concluded that there had been a violation of Articles 6 and Article 14 in conjunction with Article 8.

woensdag 2 april 2014

Nieuwsbrief Rechtspraak Europa no. 4 - april 2014 (European Courts' newsletter in Dutch)


Klik hier voor de nieuwsbrief Rechtspraak Europa verzorgd door het gerechtshof Amsterdam met een overzicht van de rechtspraak van de afgelopen maand van het Europese Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens in Straatsburg en het Hof van justitie van de Europese Unie in Luxemburg.