Chamber judgment concerning Turkey
04/05/2021
The Court has found a breach of the right to freedom of expression in the case of Kerestecioğlu Demir v. Turkey.
The case concerned the withdrawal of parliamentary immunity from the applicant, an elected member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly for the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party), who alleged that this decision had been based on her political opinions.
The Court concluded that the withdrawal of the applicant’s parliamentary immunity through the constitutional amendment of 20 May 2016 constituted in itself an interference with the applicant’s right under Article 10 of the Convention.
COVID-19
The French authorities have introduced a number of restrictions in the framework of the COVID-19 public-health crisis. The Court, while complying with the public-health measures adopted by our host State, in particular by prioritising teleworking and electronic communications, is continuing all its activities in accordance with the usual rules. Unlike during the previous lockdown periods, no special arrangements have been made in respect of procedures and time-limits.
Chambre
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Judgment concerning Poland
07/05/2021In the case of Xero Flor w Polsce sp. z o.o. v. Poland, the Court has found a violation of the right to a fair hearing and of the right to a tribunal established by law.
The case concerned attempts by the applicant company, a leading producer of rolls of turf, to obtain compensation from the State for damage caused to its turf by game. Before the ECHR, it complained about the refusal by the Polish courts to refer to the Constitutional Court legal questions on constitutionality that it wished to raise, and argued that the composition of the Constitutional Court which had subsequently examined its case had been contrary to the Constitution.
In particular, the ECHR held that the composition of the Polish Constitutional Court had been unlawful, on account of the irregular election of one of its judges.
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Events
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Freedom of expression and the ECHR
06/05/2021
On 5 May 2021, at the Kristiansand European Conference on Support for democracy and human rights in the time of the Pandemic, President Spano set out the ECHR’s current case-law on freedom of expression.
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Hearings
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Hearings in May
30/04/2021
The Court will be holding two Grand Chamber hearings in May 2021.
The case Grzęda v. Poland concerns a reform of the judiciary in Poland as a result of which the office of a Supreme Administrative Court judge elected to the National Council of the Judiciary was terminated before the end of his four-year term. There are currently 27 applications pending before the Court which raise issues relating to various aspects of the reform of the judicial system in Poland under laws that entered into force in 2017 and 2018.
The case Savickis and Others v. Latvia concerns the applicants’ allegations of discrimination in the calculation of their State pensions as permanently resident non-citizens of Latvia, as contrasted with Latvian citizens.
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Delivered Judgments & Decisions
04/05/2021
Forthcoming Judgments & Decisions
11/05/2021