29
Sep
2026
Inauguration of the Helga Pedersen Room and permanent exhibition
On 24 September 2026, the Court honoured the memory of Helga Pedersen, the first woman to sit as a judge of the Court, by inaugurating the “Helga Pedersen Room” and a permanent exhibition. The event brought together the President of the Court, Mattias Guyomar; judges of the Court, including Anne Louise Bormann, the judge elected in respect of Denmark; the Court’s Deputy Registrar, Abel Campos; the Permanent Representative of Denmark to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Michael Aastrup Jensen; a delegation of Danish judges; and numerous other guests.
In his address, President Guyomar described Helga Pedersen as a trailblazer, highlighting the many firsts that marked her remarkable career: she was Denmark’s first female Minister of Justice, the first female Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog, Denmark’s second female Supreme Court judge, and the first woman to sit as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights.
He also paid tribute to her commitment to human rights and legal humanism, describing her as a defender of truth. Reflecting on the breadth of her career, President Guyomar said: “Helga Pedersen was a judge, a minister, a parliamentarian. And then, an international judge. I find it fascinating how Helga Pedersen managed to combine, over the course of her legal career, strands characteristic of all three branches of power: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial.”
After President Guyomar, Anne Louise Bormann, judge elected in respect of Denmark, and Ambassador Michael Aastrup Jensen, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the Council of Europe, took the floor and reflected on the lasting legacy of Helga Pedersen.
The exhibition entitled Her Story: The First Woman on the Bench of the European Court of Human Rights explores selected aspects of Helga Pedersen’s career and legacy, focusing on her role as the first woman judge at the Court, her commitment to the abolition of the death penalty, and her advocacy for women’s rights. The exhibition can also be viewed online.
Also on display during the inauguration was the original of the Court’s Chamber judgment in Winterwerp v. the Netherlands, signed by Helga Pedersen, the first woman ever to act as President of a Chamber at the Court.
Kuijt v. the Netherlands
Grand Chamber rejects as inadmissible case concerning deliberation practice at Netherlands Supreme Court.
The Court has declared the application in the case of Kuijt v. the Netherlands inadmissible.
The case concerned the applicant’s complaint about the practice at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands by which judges of the Criminal Law Division who are not part of the judicial panel to which the case has been assigned may participate in the deliberations, without taking part in the vote. This is allowed in the interest of ensuring the uniform interpretation and application of the law and such Supreme Court judges are called “reservisten”.
The ECHR concluded that a legal avenue had been available to the applicant at national level to raise her complaint but that she had not used it. It would have been important to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to assess and respond to her criticisms of a well-known and long-standing internal practice that was intended to serve the purpose of ensuring the uniform application of the law. The decision underlines the importance of shared responsibility between national courts and the European Court, in line with the principle of subsidiarity.
Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union on behalf of ten Ukrainian children v. Russia
Chamber hearing on Ukrainian children from Crimean childcare institutions officially unaccounted for since 2014
The Court held a Chamber hearing in the case of Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union on behalf of ten Ukrainian children v. Russia.
The case concerns ten Ukrainian children who were living in childcare institutions in Crimea in 2014 when Russia asserted jurisdiction over the peninsula. According to the association (UHHRU) acting on their behalf, Russian nationality was imposed on the children and they were put up for adoption and may have been adopted. There has been no information on their whereabouts since 2014, despite the Ukrainian authorities’ repeated requests. UHHRU allege that this effectively amounts to the children’s enforced disappearance.
A joint event with the European Committee of Social Rights
On 8 September 2026, the Court and the European Committee of Social Rights organised a joint event in Strasbourg dedicated to advancing protection of human rights and fostering dialogue between the two institutions.
Entitled A Conversation between the European Committee of Social Rights and the European Court of Human Rights, the first-ever joint event brought together the President of the Committee, Aoife Nolan, the President of the Court, Mattias Guyomar, along with many judges of the Court and members of the Committee. The discussion focused on the themes of protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and promoting gender equality.
In his opening remarks, the President of the Court emphasised how the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter are the two pillars of the Council of Europe human rights protection system.
“These two human rights instruments have a shared origin and a shared purpose. They both have their roots in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ‘common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations’. Both aim to transpose its aims and aspirations into binding international law,” he said. In his speech, he also referred to several cases decided by the Court on the two main topics of the event.
The President of the European Committee of Social Rights highlighted the complementary mandates of the Committee and the Court and explored the two systems’ intertwined legal approaches.
The first panel discussion, moderated by Ivana Jelić, Vice-President of the European Court and judge elected in respect of Montenegro, centred on the rights of persons with disabilities and saw the participation of Aoife Nolan, President of the European Committee of Social Rights, Ioannis Ktistakis, Section President and judge elected in respect of Greece, Oddný Mjöll Arnardóttir, judge elected in respect of Iceland, and Kristina Koldinská, member of the European Committee of Social Rights.
The second panel discussion focused on gender equality. Moderated by George Theodosis, Vice-President of the European Committee of Social Rights, the panel featured Frédéric Krenc, judge elected in respect of Belgium, Diana Sârcu, judge elected in respect of the Republic of Moldova, Kristīne Dupate, General Rapporteur of the European Committee of Social Rights, and Mario Vinković, member of the European Committee of Social Rights.
The event concluded with closing remarks by Kateřina Šimáčková, Section President and judge elected in respect of the Czech Republic, and Tatiana Puiu, Vice-President of the European Committee of Social Rights.
Inauguration of the Helga Pedersen Room and permanent exhibition
On 24 September 2026, the Court honoured the memory of Helga Pedersen, the first woman to sit as a judge of the Court, by inaugurating the “Helga Pedersen Room” and a permanent exhibition. The event brought together the President of the Court, Mattias Guyomar; judges of the Court, including Anne Louise Bormann, the judge elected in respect of Denmark; the Court’s Deputy Registrar, Abel Campos; the Permanent Representative of Denmark to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Michael Aastrup Jensen; a delegation of Danish judges; and numerous other guests.
In his address, President Guyomar described Helga Pedersen as a trailblazer, highlighting the many firsts that marked her remarkable career: she was Denmark’s first female Minister of Justice, the first female Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog, Denmark’s second female Supreme Court judge, and the first woman to sit as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights.
He also paid tribute to her commitment to human rights and legal humanism, describing her as a defender of truth. Reflecting on the breadth of her career, President Guyomar said: “Helga Pedersen was a judge, a minister, a parliamentarian. And then, an international judge. I find it fascinating how Helga Pedersen managed to combine, over the course of her legal career, strands characteristic of all three branches of power: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial.”
After President Guyomar, Anne Louise Bormann, judge elected in respect of Denmark, and Ambassador Michael Aastrup Jensen, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the Council of Europe, took the floor and reflected on the lasting legacy of Helga Pedersen.
The exhibition entitled Her Story: The First Woman on the Bench of the European Court of Human Rights explores selected aspects of Helga Pedersen’s career and legacy, focusing on her role as the first woman judge at the Court, her commitment to the abolition of the death penalty, and her advocacy for women’s rights. The exhibition can also be viewed online.
Also on display during the inauguration was the original of the Court’s Chamber judgment in Winterwerp v. the Netherlands, signed by Helga Pedersen, the first woman ever to act as President of a Chamber at the Court.
Kuijt v. the Netherlands
Grand Chamber rejects as inadmissible case concerning deliberation practice at Netherlands Supreme Court.
The Court has declared the application in the case of Kuijt v. the Netherlands inadmissible.
The case concerned the applicant’s complaint about the practice at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands by which judges of the Criminal Law Division who are not part of the judicial panel to which the case has been assigned may participate in the deliberations, without taking part in the vote. This is allowed in the interest of ensuring the uniform interpretation and application of the law and such Supreme Court judges are called “reservisten”.
The ECHR concluded that a legal avenue had been available to the applicant at national level to raise her complaint but that she had not used it. It would have been important to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to assess and respond to her criticisms of a well-known and long-standing internal practice that was intended to serve the purpose of ensuring the uniform application of the law. The decision underlines the importance of shared responsibility between national courts and the European Court, in line with the principle of subsidiarity.
Judicial activities
24/09/26
Measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court are decided in connection with proceedings before the Court, without prejudging any subsequent decisions on the admissibility or merits of the case.
24/09/26
Complaints about fairness of criminal trial brought by brothers charged with murder of Maltese journalist inadmissible
The Court has declared inadmissible the application in the case of Degiorgio v. Malta.
The case concerned the applicants’ complaints about the fairness of the criminal proceedings against them. The applicant brothers had been charged with, among other things, the wilful homicide of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. After committal proceedings, but before the trial by jury took place, their lawyer renounced his mandate. As the brothers were unable to find another lawyer to represent them, the Criminal Court appointed legal aid lawyers for that purpose. The brothers agreed to a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to the charges against them. They complained before the ECHR that their trial had been unfair because they did not have legal assistance of their choosing, nor adequate time to prepare their defence.
The Court found that the appointment of legal aid lawyers had been reasonable in the circumstances. The interests of the expediency of the case and that of third parties, constituted relevant and sufficient grounds in the interests of justice for overriding the brothers’ wishes to continue looking for a lawyer of choice. The Court also found that the brothers’ guilty pleas had been entered into voluntarily and could not be said to have resulted from any duress.
24/09/26
The ECHR has decided on 17 September 2026 to bar a Ukrainian national, Sergiy Mykolayovych Rybiy, from representing or assisting parties before the Court for a period of five years.
24/09/26
Forthcoming delivery of advisory opinion in response to a request from the Supreme court of Ukraine
The ECHR will deliver an advisory opinion at a public hearing on Tuesday 29 September 2026.
The delivery will be broadcast live on the European Court’s YouTube channel.
The request concerns proceedings pending before the Supreme Court of Ukraine concerning a challenge by a company to a tax fine.
23/09/26
The ECHR has decided to reject the request for interim measures lodged by 25 French nationals detained in Iraq.
The applicants, all adults, left France to join the ranks of the so-called “Islamic State”. They were subsequently detained in various detention centres in north-eastern Syria before being transferred, between 2025 and 2026, to a prison in Baghdad, Iraq, where they are currently being held for trial. They are being prosecuted for offences falling within the jurisdiction of the Iraqi courts.
On 17 September 2026 they lodged a request for interim measures with the Court under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court. They primarily sought their repatriation or the execution of warrants for their arrest or search issued by the French judicial authorities. In the alternative, they asked that the French Government take the requisite steps to ensure that they are not sentenced to death and that they receive a fair trial, in particular by requesting the necessary guarantees from the Iraqi authorities.
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