In the case of Braun v. Poland, the Court held that there had been a violation of freedom of expression. The case concerned the complaint by a film director and historian about being ordered to pay a fine and to publish an apology for having damaged the reputation of a well-known professor to whom he had referred, in a radio debate, as an informant of the secret political police during the communist era.

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In the case of Shvydka v. Ukraine, the Court held that there had been several violations of the Convention. The applicant, a member of Batkivshchyna, an opposition political party, complained about her conviction of petty hooliganism for expressing her disagreement with Viktor Yanukovych’s policies and his Presidency of Ukraine.

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In the case of Gough v. the United Kingdom, the Court held that there had been no violation of the Convention. The case concerned in particular the applicant’s complaint about his repeated arrest, prosecution, conviction and imprisonment in Scotland for breach of the peace because of his nudity in public places.

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On 24 and 25 October 2014, President Spielmann paid an official visit to Baku. During his visit, he met Ilham Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, Ramiz Yaqub Rzayev, President of the Supreme Court, Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Fikrat Mammadov, Minister of Justice. He also took part in the International Conference on “Application of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms on national level and the role of national judges”. President Spielmann was accompanied by Khanlar Hajiyev, judge elected in respect of Azerbaijan, and Michael O’Boyle, Deputy Registrar.

Speech by the President

From 20 to 23 October 2014, a delegation of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is visiting the Court, headed by its President, Humberto Antonio Sierra Porto. On 20 and 21 October the visiting judges took part in roundtable discussions with Judges of the Court, members of the Registry and members of the Venice Commission. The delegation will also meet the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and members of the Secretariat of the PACE, members of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the Court and of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The Chamber to which the case of Lambert and Others v. France was allocated has relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber. After receiving an application in June 2014 from, among others, the parents of Vincent Lambert, the Court decided to grant the request for interim measures made under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court and requested the French Government to stay execution of the judgment of the Conseil d’Etat authorising the withdrawal of Vincent Lambert’s nutrition and hydration.

Vincent Lambert has been tetraplegic since a road traffic accident in 2008. He currently receives artificial nutrition and hydration and is in a state of total dependence.

The Court will be holding a hearing in this case on 07 January 2015.

Cases pending before the Grand Chamber

The Court will be holding a hearing in the case of Gherghina v. Romania on 12 November 2014. The case concerns the applicant’s alleged inability to pursue university studies because of the lack of accessible buildings for people with disabilities and the alleged failure to provide any reasonable alternative solutions.

The Court will also be holding a hearing in the case of Kudrevičius and Others v. Lithuania on 26 November 2014. The case concerns the conviction of 5 farmers for rioting, following a protest in which they had blockaded major roads during a dispute with the Government over the price of milk.

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