Council of Europe Exercises Historic Infringement Proceedings Against Azerbaijan

On December 5, 2017, the Council of Europe’s (COE) Committee of Ministers triggered formal infringement proceedings against Azerbaijan for the State’s repeated refusal to comply with the 2014 judgment in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case of Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan. [Council of Europe Press Release] The next step is for the ECtHR to review Azerbaijan’s compliance with

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African Court Holds Rwanda Violated Victoire Ingabire’s Freedom of Expression

On November 24, 2017, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) held that Rwanda violated Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza’s right to freedom of opinion and expression, as well as her right to an adequate defense. See AfCHPR, Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. The Republic of Rwanda, App. No. 003/2014, Judgment of 24 November 2017, paras. 173(viii)-(ix). Specifically, the African Court held

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IJRC to Host Training for Advocates Attending African Commission Session

The International Justice Resource Center (IJRC) in collaboration with the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) will hold a training from 09:00 to 10:30 on October 30, 2017 at the Kairaba Hotel in Banjul, The Gambia, ahead of the 61st Ordinary Session of the African Commission of Human

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ECtHR Finds Forced Disclosure of Known Journalistic Source Violates Rights

On October 5, 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) unanimously ruled that Norway violated a journalist’s rights under Article 10 (right to freedom of expression) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) because the Supreme Court of Norway imposed a fine on her for refusal to testify on her source, who had already made himself known. See

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IACHR Applauds Bolivia’s Efforts to End Impunity Through Truth Commission

On September 14, 2017, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a press release, applauding the Bolivian government’s establishment of a Truth Commission on August 21, 2017. [IACHR Press Release: Bolivia] The Truth Commission will investigate allegations of grave human rights violations and crimes against humanity that occurred between November 4, 1964 through October 10, 1982, during the military

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Supreme Court of India Declares Privacy Is a Fundamental Right

At the end of August, the Supreme Court of India unanimously held that the Constitution of India specifically protects the right to privacy, which it concluded is inherent to constitutional guarantees of life and liberty pursuant to its Article 21 and, therefore, already exists as a fundamental freedom enshrined in the Constitution. See Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd) vs. Union of

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