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LEGAL BRIEFS
Below is a selection of legal
briefs, or amicus curiae, that INTERIGHTS has submitted to a range
of international and national tribunals. Please click on the relevant case
to download the document. For further information on submissions,
please see the relevant section.
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Nachova v Bulgaria
(2004) Filed by INTERIGHTS before the European Court of Human Rights. The
case concerns the allegedly racist killing of two Roma youth by state
officials in Bulgaria. In February 2004, in a historic finding, the Court
found a violation of Article 14 together with Article 2. The case was
deferred to the Grand Chamber on the request of the Bulgarian authorities.
INTERIGHTS' brief urges the Court to adopt a flexible approach to issues of
evidence in discrimination cases, particularly with respect to standard of
proof adopted and the allocation of the burden of proof. The Grand Chamber
will hear the case on 23 February 2005. See Latest News for further
information.
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Caesar v Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago (2004) Filed by INTERIGHTS before the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights. This
brief concerns the issue of whether judicial corporal punishment constitutes
'cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment' within the meaning of Article 5 of
the American Convention on Human Rights. The case is yet to be decided. See Latest
News for further information.
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D.H. and Others v the Czech
Republic (2004) Filed by INTERIGHTS and Human Rights Watch before the
European Court of Human Rights. The case concerns discrimination on the
basis of race in school placement of Roma children. The brief outlines ways in which courts in other jurisdictions allow for
indirect discrimination to be proved, and the critical role of statistics in
this regard. The case is yet to be decided. See Equality
Programme Activities for more information.
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Lawrence
v Texas (2003) Filed by INTERIGHTS, Amnesty International, Mary
Robinson et al before the US Supreme Court. The brief adopts a comparative
human rights approach to the protection of the right to privacy of same sex
couples.
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Rafael Marques v Angola
(2002) Filed by INTERIGHTS and OSI before the UN Human Rights Committee. The
brief concerns freedom of expression and the right to fair trial. The
communication is due to be considered at one of the Committee's 2005
sessions.
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Al
Odah v USA (2002) Filed by INTERIGHTS and California Western School
of Law before the US Court of Appeals. The brief reviews the case of 12
Kuwaiti nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, and addresses the
applicable framework under international humanitarian and human rights law,
specifically the right to have one�s status determined; the right of
access to a lawyer; and the right to have detention judicially reviewed.
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Nikula v Finland
(2001) Filed by INTERIGHTS before the European Court of Human
Rights reviewing the laws of ten democratic states concerning the necessity of
restrictions in the right to freedom of expression, as exercised by a lawyer
appearing on behalf of a client before a court. The brief is appended with
statements of the legal experts from each of the jurisdictions surveyed.
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Toguc and Others v Turkey
(2000)
Filed by INTERIGHTS before the European Court of Human
Rights reviewing the laws of nine democratic states concerning the necessity
of restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and association. The
brief is appended with statements of legal experts from each of the
jurisdictions surveyed.
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Incal v Turkey
(1997) Filed before the European Court of Human Rights by INTERIGHTS and ARTICLE 19 reviewing laws governing speech that is critical of government and considered to threaten public order in nine democracies across the world. The brief is appended with declarations from experts in each of the nine jurisdictions surveyed.
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Goodwin v UK
(1995) Filed before the European Court of Human Rights by INTERIGHTS and ARTICLE 19. This brief surveys the laws of seven European countries on the protection of
journalists' sources.
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Wingrove v UK
(1995) Filed before the European Court of Human Rights by INTERIGHTS and ARTICLE 19. The brief includes a survey of European and US law relating to censorship of films deemed blasphemous. In addition, this brief reviews laws governing film and video classification, and powers of prior censorship by those classification mechanisms. This brief is appended with the declaration of domestic law contained in the
Otto Preminger v Austria brief and is updated with further expert statements.
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Nemi v Lagos
(1995) Filed before Nigerian Courts by INTERIGHTS, the INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW GROUP and AFRONET. Summarising the state of comparative law on the consequences of delay in the execution of the death penalty.
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Prager and Oberschlick v Austria
(1994) Filed before the European Court of Human Rights by INTERIGHTS and ARTICLE 19. This brief surveys the law of seven European countries, with brief reference to the United States, on the law governing defamation of judges, as well as the assessment of
'facts', 'value judgements' and 'exaggeration' in defamation law. The brief is appended with declarations from experts in each of the European countries reviewed.
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