View From The Court: 9 November

Cases involving a women's right to keep her surname after marriage in Switzerland, the death of a parachutist in Bulgaria and a protest at the treatment of a former Economic development Minister by Azerbaijan authorities come befor the European Court of Human Rights next week.


Losonci Rose and Rose v. Switzerland (no. 664/06)



The applicants are Laszlo Losonci Rose, a Hungarian national, and Iris Rose, his wife, who has joint Swiss and French nationality. They were born in 1949 and 1955 respectively and live in Uetendorf (Canton of Berne, Switzerland). Relying on Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) they complain that were not able to keep both their surnames after marriage, on account of a rule under Swiss law whereby the husband’s surname becomes that of the couple.




Farhad Aliyev v. Azerbaijan (application no. 37138/06)

The applicant, Farhad Aliyev, is an Azerbaijani national who was born in 1963 and lives in Baku. He was the Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan from 2001 until his arrest in October 2005 on suspicion of being involved in a planned coup d’état. In a judgment upheld by the Supreme Court in July 2009 he was convicted of a number of criminal offences including embezzlement and actions aimed at usurping state power. Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights, he complains of the conditions of part of his pre-trial detention and the lack of adequate medical assistance. He further alleges, in particular, that he was arrested and detained in an unlawful manner, that his pre-trial detention was unreasonably long, that the judicial proceedings concerning his detention were unfair, and that statements by the prosecutor general’s office and by two ministries after his arrest amounted to an infringement of his right to the presumption of innocence. He relies in particular on Articles 5 §§ 1 and 3 (right to liberty and security) and 6 § 2 (right to a fair trial) of the Convention.

Stoyanovi v. Bulgaria (no. 42980/04)

The applicants, Veselka Stoyanova and Grigor Stoyanov, are Bulgarian nationals who were born in 1946 and 1938 respectively, and live in Kazichene (Bulgaria). Their son, Rosen Stoyanov, born in 1967 and a parachute instructor in the Bulgarian Army, died on 27 May 1998 when performing a parachute jump during a training exercise. Relying on Article 2 (right to life), the applicants complain that the State was responsible for the death of their son and that the investigation into the incident was ineffective. Under Article 13 (right to an effective remedy), they complain that, in view of the findings of the criminal investigation, which concluded that no offence had been committed, they could not seek damages for their son’s death.

Deés v. Hungary (no. 2345/06)

The applicant, György Deés, is a Hungarian national who was born in 1950 and lives in Alsónémedi (Hungary). He complains that, because of the noise, pollution and smell caused by the heavy traffic in his street, his home has become almost uninhabitable, in breach of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life). He further complains under Article 6 (right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time) about the length of the court proceedings he brought on the issue.



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