The Court will be delivering two Grand Chamber rulings on 1 June 2023.

The case Fu Quan S. R. O. v. the Czech Republic concerns the seizure of property amounting to nearly 2.4 million euros belonging to the applicant company in the course of a tax evasion investigation and trial. It was held for five years.

The case Grosam v. the Czech Republic concerns the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court’s issuing a fine in disciplinary proceedings to the applicant for professional misconduct, and his subsequent appeal to the Constitutional Court. 

Press release

Country profile – Czech Republic

On 22 May 2023, the Grand Chamber panel of five judges decided to reject all 8 requests for referral to the Grand Chamber.

Press release

Cases pending before the Grand Chamber

The ECHR has accepted a request for an advisory opinion submitted by the Conseil d’État of Belgium. The request was submitted in the context of an application lodged by a security guard before the administrative judicial division of the Belgian Conseil d’État, seeking the annulment of a decision by the Ministry of the Interior to withdraw an identity card entitling him to work as a security or surveillance guard, on the grounds that he was in contact with individuals associated with the “scientific” strand of Salafism.

Press release

Advisory opinions

On 24 May 2023 Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men of Luxembourg, visited the Court and was received by Judge Lado Chanturia, Section Vice-President. Victor Soloveytchik, Section Registrar, also attended the meeting.

On 23 May 2023 Levan Ioseliani, Public Defender of Georgia, visited the Court and was received by Vice-President Marko Bošnjak. Victor Soloveytchik, Section Registrar, also attended the meeting.

On 22 May 2023 a delegation from the Supreme Court of Norway, headed by Chief Justice Toril Marie Øie, paid a working visit to the Court and was received by President Síofra O’Leary. During the visit the delegation took part in roundtable discussions with judges of the Court and members of the Registry.

On 25-26 May 2023 President Síofra O’Leary attended the 3^rd International Human Rights Forum held at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in San José, Costa Rica. She was accompanied by Arnfinn Bårdsen, Section President, and Judges Anja Seibert-Fohr, María Elósegui and Darian Pavli.

Judges from the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights who took part in the Forum exchanged views on the following topics: judicial independence and rule of law; and environment, climate change, and human rights.

The delegation of the Court also attended a public seminar on the topic “Regional systems of human rights protection and their challenges”, where President O’Leary intervened.

Video of the public seminar

The team from the University of Maastricht was declared winner of the 11th edition of the European Moot Court Competition in English on the European Convention of Human Rights. 18 university teams from 10 countries were competing to win a fictitious case related to gestational surrogacy from 22 to 26 May 2023.

This competition is organised jointly by the Council of Europe and the European Law Students Association (ELSA).

More information

The SCN welcomes a new member: the Supreme Court of Denmark, which brings the membership of the Network to 104 courts from 45 States.

Superior Courts Network – Member Courts