Volunteers and lawyers to jointly combat online and offline hate speech against Roma in Slovakia

A project to tackle online hate speech against Roma in Slovakia was launched on 7th June by the Forum for Human Rights (FORUM) and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC). The project is part of a European Union-funded initiative by the ERRC and its partners to directly challenge and litigate online hate speech in Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. It will…

The Right of the Child in Conflict with the Law to Individual Assessment – Recommendations for Professionals and Recommendations in Child-friendly Version

Forum for Human Rights, together with the International Commission of Jurists, have prepared recommendations to help judges, attorneys, lawyers, social workers, probation officers, the police and other professionals, who come into contact with children in conflict with the law. The recommendations discuss the so-called individual assessment of the child and explain why to approach individual…

Involuntary hospitalisation cannot be based on one expert statement or general knowledge about a diagnosis

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic upheld the complaint of a person, who was involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he was also subjected to physical and chemical restraints. The Constitutional Court found that his right to personal liberty was violated. The applicant was supported by the Forum for Human Rights with the…

New publication: Right to Education: Reality and Strategic Litigation Options

Forum for Human Rights and Amnesty International Czech Republic published a new publication on the right to education and the level of its fulfilment in the Czech Republic with an emphasis on particularly vulnerable children: children with disabilities, Roma children, children facing poverty, and social exclusion. The publication takes the form of a human rights analysis based…

Wrist bones examinations are unsuitable for age assessment

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic upheld the complaint of an Iraqi minor who was unlawfully detained in the immigration centre for three months following a wrong determination of his age by the Czech authorities. In its judgment of 30 July 2021, the Czech Constitutional Court found that the rights of the minor to personal liberty…

Webinar for judges: right to individual assessment of a child in conflict with the law

Between April 28-29, 2021, FORUM, in partnership with , the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ, Belgium), and with the support of the Judicial Academy, organized online seminars as part of the European project “Procedural Rights for All Children in Justice” (PRACTICE) . Following  the seminars organized in February for lawyers and social workers, the seminars brought together around 50…