FEDERA and the Center for Reproductive Rights submitted an amicus curiae brief to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of V.M. v. Poland (application number 40002/22). The complaint concerns an Armenian national who suffered a miscarriage in the Center for Foreigners in Biała Podlaska while waiting for her asylum application to be examined. In this amicus brief we describe the obligations of states under international human rights law, including the European Convention READ MORE
Category: European Court of Human Rights
COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS URGES POLAND TO ENSURE ACCESS TO LAWFUL ABORTION CARE
On 2 December 2021, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued a decision strongly urging Poland to adopt, without further delay, long overdue clear and unified procedures for access to lawful abortion care and information. The decision expresses serious concerns about Poland’s longstanding failure to comply with the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments in the cases of Tysiąc v. Poland, R.R. v. Poland and P. and S. v. Poland. The judgments became final in 2007, 2011, and READ MORE
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO CONSIDER POLISH WOMEN’S COMPLAINTS ON THE ABORTION BAN
July 9 — In April 2021 we started the Women’s Collective Complaint campaign. Its aim was to encourage Polish women to send applications to the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the decision of the so-called Constitutional Tribunal that banned abortion due to severe fetal defects. The European Court of Human Rights has just announced that it will deal with the merits of some of the complaints that it has received. This means READ MORE
WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE COMPLAINT: LODGE AN APPLICATION TO THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN STRASBURG AGAINST THE RULING OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL ON ABORTION
January 1 — Today, together with cause dedicated lawyers, we are starting an action titled Women’s Collective Complaint (Skarga Kobiet). Civic Initiative Women’s Collective Complaint (Inicjatywa Obywatelska Skarga Kobiet) and the Federation for Women and Family Planning have developed a model application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECHR). It is a complaint against violation of rights guaranteed under the European Convention of Human Rights, which is in force in Poland. Anyone READ MORE
Poland criticized by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has expressed serious concern about Poland’s longstanding failure to ensure that women and girls in Poland can access legal abortion care in practice. In a very important decision the Committee of Ministers has urged Poland to implement three landmark judgments on women’s access to abortion from the European Court of Human Rights and give effect to women’s entitlements to abortion under Polish law. On foot of Poland’s failures, READ MORE
Case P. and S. versus Poland
Case P. and S. versus Poland Another case is P. and S. versus Poland, decided by the Court in 2012. It concerned the case of a teenager who got pregnant as a result of sexual violence. She was 14 years old at that time, therefore the pregnancy came from a criminal act (sexual intercourse with a person under 15 years of age is a criminal act regardless of the age of the perpetrator). Despite the READ MORE
Case R.R. versus Poland
Case R.R. versus Poland The second Polish case, decided by the Court in 2011, was R.R. versus Poland. It concerned a woman who found out during her pregnancy that there was a risk that her foetus suffered from a serious genetic defect (Turner syndrome). Although the Family Planning Act indicates the necessity of only a high probability of foetus malformation, diagnostics in this condition could offer a certainty as to whether or not the foetus READ MORE
Case Tysiąc versus Poland
Case Tysiąc versus Poland The first case is Tysiąc versus Poland. It concerned a woman suffering from a serious eyes condition who became pregnant. Pregnancy increased the risk of substantial impairment of her vision, which would intensify her already identified disability. However, doctors could not agree as to whether the woman’s condition and the damaging for her vision influence of pregnancy constitute circumstances that entitle her to legal termination of pregnancy according to the provisions READ MORE