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 and fair trial have been violated. …
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 participants, including judges, prosecutors, probation officers, …
New publication: Right to health of people without housing in Slovakia
People with debts on health insurance in Slovakia can access only emergency treatment. The experience of organisations working on the ground shows that this policy is one of the greatest barriers in the access to health care for people without housing in Slovakia. As a consequence, many people without housing cannot access preventive treatment and their health condition is neglected to …
We co-organized seminar for judges on asylum and migration law
On 22 and 23 March 20201 Forum for Human Rights in cooperation with the International Commission of Jurists and the Judicial Academy of the Czech Republic has organized a judicial training for Czech judges and judicial assistants on Selected discourses of asylum and migration law from the international and national perspective. The seminar was attended also by lawyers from the Office …
ICJ and Forum for Human Rights celebrate landmark European Committee decision upholding procedural rights for children
All children regardless of their age must have access to procedural rights when they are accused of criminal acts, the Council of Europe’s European Committee of Social Rights decided in a landmark case (No. 148/2017) brought by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Forum for Human Rights. The ICJ and Forum lodged a complaint challenging the failure of the Czech Republic to provide for …
Success in the case concerning personal assistance
Legal capacity has no impact on the right to receive allowance for personal assistance. This is the main message of the judgment of the Regional Court in Banská Bystrica in the matter of not granting allowance for personal assistance to a client with a mental disability, whom we had assisted with the preparation of the lawsuit. The financial allowance for personal assistance …
Training on the rights of children suspected or accused of violating the law
FORUM together with its partner the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is holding an online training seminar on the rights of children who are suspected or accused of violating the law within the European Union. The training (16-18 February 2021) focuses on the right of a child in conflict with the law to an individual assessment, under Article 7 of EU Directive …
FORUM filed an inclusive education case against Slovakia
FORUM supports inclusive education of children with disabilities. That is why we filed an individual complaint with the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in a case concerning a young boy with intellectual disability who was prevented from continuing his education on a high school. The case is directed against Slovakia. The case reflects a widespread discrimination …
Council of Europe body finds Czech Republic responsible for violating rights of children with disabilities and Romani children through institutionalisation
The European Committee of Social Rights has today found the Czech Republic responsible for large-scale and discriminatory institutionalisation of children with disabilities and Romani children in early childhood care institutions, criticising the failure of the country to adopt and implement an appropriate deinstitutionalisation strategy. In a decision released today, the European Committee found violations of the rights of particularly vulnerable Roma …
Lack of access to a lawyer for children: Czech Republic in breach of the Convention Against Torture
Today, Forum together with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) submitted written information to the UN Committee against Torture ahead of its examination of the periodic report of the Czech Republic. The two organisations argue that the Czech Republic violates Articles 2, 14 and 16 of the Convention Against Torture by not ensuring access to a lawyer for children below the …