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418:, as this was required to accommodate the cultural situation of homosexuality in Russia. The Government also claimed that it had been necessary to ban the event for the protection of morals, referring prominent religious organisations' opposition to the march, and that, as there was no consensus between member states as to the legitimacy of homosexuality within society, national authorities were better placed than the European Court to determine the conditions for such events.
476:(Russia's fourth-largest city), that, "as a matter of necessity, homosexuals must be stoned to death", as evidence of the likely public disorder which would result from the march. The Court found that, "y relying on such blatantly unlawful calls as grounds for the ban, the authorities effectively endorsed the intentions of persons and organisations that clearly and deliberately intended to disrupt a peaceful demonstration in breach of the law and public order." (para.76)
508:). While issues such as adoption by same-sex couples and access to same-sex marriage were yet to be brought to consensus, the Court found there was "no ambiguity about the other member States' recognition of the right of individuals to openly identify themselves as gay, lesbian or any other sexual minority, and to promote their rights and freedoms, in particular by exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly." (para.84)
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880:
398:. He also claimed that he had not been able to access an effective remedy for the violation of Article 11, a violation of Article 13; and that the refusal to allow the marches to go forward had been discriminatory, in that it was made on the basis of his and other participants' sexual orientation, a violation of Article 14 in conjunction with Article 11.
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rights were the victims' homosexuality, it would amount to discrimination under
Article 14. The Court found on the facts that the march participants' sexual orientation had been the main reason for banning the events, and that there had therefore been a violation of Article 14 in conjunction with Article 11.
557:
afforded to member states in this regard was narrow. It was necessary to show not just that measures taken were "suitable in general", but that they were "necessary in the circumstances" (para.108), and that if the sole reason put forward by a member state for restrictions on access to the
Convention
370:
The
Applicant appealed all of the refusals unsuccessfully, and attempted to organise a picket for 17 May calling for criminal charges to be brought against the Mayor for banning the marches. Permission for this was refused on 13 May on the same grounds as previously, however the organisers managed to
446:
and would not have involved any sexually provocative content. He claimed the
Government's references to public safety were unsubstantiated as they had not demonstrated an assessed risk of violence. He claimed finally that the sweeping nature of the ban was disproportionate and could not be justified
354:
On 18 April 2008, the
Applicant along with other organisers submitted notice of ten intended marches to be held on 1 and 2 May 2008. All were refused on public safety grounds, and the organisers submitted another fifteen applications for marches on 3 and 5 May, all of which were refused for the same
545:
The
Government claimed that the antagonistic nature of the relationship between sexual minorities and religious groups in Russia meant it was necessary to place restrictions on the exercise of certain rights. The Applicant responded that the ban was discriminatory as it had been put in place due to
524:
The Court stated that, in the circumstances, an appropriate remedy would have been for the
Applicant to have been able to obtain a court ruling concerning the authorisation of the march before it was intended to take place. The Court found that the judicial remedies which had been available to the
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Article 13 requires that within a member state a competent national authority must be able to provide a suitable domestic remedy to an aggrieved party, both to deal with the substance of the relevant
Convention complaint and to grant appropriate relief. As the Applicant's Article 11 right had been
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The Court found that the
Government had taken no steps to assess the risk posed should the marches have gone ahead. It stated, "The only factor taken into account by the Moscow authorities was the public opposition to the event, and the officials' own views on morals." (para.85) The Government had
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The
Applicant responded that the provisions used to ban the marches applied only to the safety and suitability of proposed venues rather than to a general risk of violence, and that the authorities on refusing an application for these reasons were obliged to suggest an alternative venue, which had
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riot police unit patrolling, as well as around one hundred individuals protesting against the planned flower-laying. The Applicant was arrested and the other demonstrators proceeded to the Mayor's office. Around one hundred arrests were made by the OMON police officers of people attacking the LGBT
336:
On 15 May 2007, the Applicant and other individuals submitted another application to the Mayor's office to hold a similar march to that proposed the year before, this time with an estimated attendance of five thousand one hundred people. This application was refused, and an alternative submitted
413:
The Government claimed that domestic law allowed for the restriction of assembly on safety grounds, and that the circumstances of the Applicant's proposed marches and strength of public opinion against them would have meant a high risk of violence. They claimed Article 11 must be interpreted as
341:
and another in Novopushkinskiy Park, both of which were denied. On 27 May, the Applicant along with around twenty others attempted to deliver a petition against the prohibition of demonstration to the Mayor's office, but was detained by police along with two other men. He was convicted of the
479:
The Court found the ban disproportionate to the Government's stated aim of protecting children and vulnerable adults from homosexual propaganda. It also dismissed the Government's claim that the march should have been banned for conflicting with religious doctrine and the moral values of the
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the government of Moscow's disapproval of the participants' homosexuality. He referred to reference made by the Government to the disapproval of religious groups towards the march, and to comments made in the media by the Mayor of Moscow which were unfavourable towards homosexuality.
512:
failed to demonstrate any pressing social need to ban such demonstrations for any of the reasons it had given. The Court therefore found the ban not to have been necessary in a democratic society, and to have been a violation of the right to freedom of assembly under Article 11.
214:. He claimed furthermore that he had not received an effective remedy under Article 13 against the violation of Article 11, and that he had been discriminated against by the authorities in Moscow under Article 14 in their consideration of his applications to hold the marches.
285:, on 27 May starting at 3pm and lasting until 5pm. On 18 May, the organisers were informed that the Mayor had refused permission for the march on grounds of public order, for the prevention of riots and the protection of health, morals and the rights and freedoms of others.
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majority. It stated that, if a minority group's exercise of rights guaranteed under the Convention were made conditional upon acceptance of that group by the societal majority, it would be "incompatible with the underlying values of the Convention" (para.81).
307:, and lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as an act of remembrance to victims of fascism, including LGBT victims. They intended to follow this with a protest against the banning of the march with a fifteen-minute picket at the office of the
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The Court responded to the statement by the Government that there was a lack of consensus between member states as to the legitimacy of homosexuality, stating there was a long-standing consensus on such matters as legalisation of homosexual activity
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The Court reiterated that Article 11 includes within it protection for assemblies which may be at risk of attack from groups who disagree with or are offended by the assembly's aims or purpose. (para.73) The Government had referred
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Article 14 protects against discrimination in access to rights under the Convention. Because it relates to access to rights, it can only be used in conjunction with another article, in this case Article 11.
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Notice was given by the organisers of the march to the Mayor on 15 May 2006, that around two thousand people were expected to participate in a march from the Moscow Post Office along Myasnitskaya Street to
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225:. Their judgment was issued on 21 October 2010 and a referral by the Russian government to the Grand Chamber of the Court rejected on 11 April 2011, at which point the judgment became final.
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Recent academic article, "Homosexuality, Freedom of Assembly and the Margin of Appreciation Doctrine of the European Court of Human Rights: Alekseyev v Russia", in Human Rights Law Review
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The Court found it unnecessary to consider the legitimate aim or domestic lawfulness of the ban as it had found the ban did not satisfy the requirement of being
269:. The march was to be held on 27 May that year, the anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality in Russia. On 16 February, a statement was released by the
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nature and could not have provided adequate redress to the Applicant, and that there had therefore been a violation of Article 13 (para. 99).
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On 27 May 2006, when the march was intended to have been held, the Applicant along with several others attended a conference in honour of the
566:
The Applicant had claimed €40,000 in non-pecuniary damages, of which the Government was ordered to pay €12,000, as well as €17,510 in costs.
315:. When the Applicant and fifteen others arrived at the Garden, they found the gates locked and some hundred and fifty policemen from the
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not been done. He further contended that the Government's definition of morals was incorrect, as it referred only to majoritarian
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The (Gay) Elephant in the Room: Is there a Positive Obligation to Legally Recognise Same-Sex Unions after Fedotova v. Russia?
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The First Section of the Court, sitting as a Chamber, found unanimously that there had been violations of
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438:. Furthermore, the proposed marches would not have been a threat to morals as they were concerned with
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reasons. The Applicant then submitted a raft of other proposals, including one to the recently elected
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The Court stated that homosexuality was a ground for discrimination under Article 14, and that the
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demonstrators. The Applicant's account of events on this day was corroborated by reports from the
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administrative offence of disobeying a lawful order from the police and fined one thousand
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and also appealed the original refusal to a judge, however both were unsuccessful.
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The organisers submitted an alternative application involving only a picket in
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In 2006, the Applicant along with several others began organising a march in
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on the grounds that it may have shocked or confused some parts of society (
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Press release No. 347, European Court of Human Rights, April 15, 2011
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Rozakis, joined by Vajić, Kovler, Steiner, Hajiyev, Spielmann, Jebens
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The Court unanimously found violations of all three articles.
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to a statement opposing the ban by the head Muslim cleric in
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violated, he was entitled to such relief under Article 13.
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List of LGBT-related European Court of Human Rights cases
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European Court of Human Rights case law on LGBTQ rights
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concerning the prohibition of the 2006, 2007 and 2008
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European Court of Human Rights cases involving Russia
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Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights
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Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights
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Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights
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Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights
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International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
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337:proposing a picket before the Mayor's residence in
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202:. The case was brought by Russian LGBT activist
654:Copy of Court press release concerning the case
367:on 31 May 2008, to which he received no reply.
363:, stating his intention to hold a march in the
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496:), parental rights, succession to tenancies (
267:discrimination against LGBT people in Russia
175:, the applicant, being arrested outside the
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525:Applicant in the circumstances were of a
322:International Lesbian and Gay Association
786:Recognition of same-sex unions in Russia
371:hold a picket for around ten minutes on
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914:Straight Alliance for LGBT Equality
212:European Convention on Human Rights
148:European Convention on Human Rights
76:European Convention on Human Rights
74:, Article 13 and Article 14 of the
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430:without regard to the concepts of
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462:necessary in a democratic society
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249:activist, lawyer and journalist.
493:Smith and Grady v United Kingdom
490:), homosexuals in the military (
405:Article 11 (freedom of assembly)
303:along the Western length of the
208:Article 11 (freedom of assembly)
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502:), and equal ages of consent (
388:European Court of Human Rights
190:European Court of Human Rights
32:4916/07, 25924/08 and 14599/09
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876:Law banning gender transition
817:Fedotova and Others v. Russia
739:2014 Winter Olympics protests
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516:Article 13 (effective remedy)
414:allowing governments a broad
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951:Side by Side (film festival)
722:Violence against homosexuals
375:near the Mayor's residence.
241:), born 23 December 1977 in
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840:Anti-gay purges in Chechnya
607:(prohibition LGBT march in
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533:Article 14 (discrimination)
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751:In the Russo-Ukrainian War
373:Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street
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45:Language of proceedings
24:Decided 21 October 2010
1063:LGBTQ rights in Russia
555:margin of appreciation
416:margin of appreciation
198:gay rights marches in
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55:Nationality of parties
1033:2010 in LGBTQ history
600:LGBT rights in Russia
550:Findings of the Court
457:Findings of the Court
237:(spelt by the Court,
188:is a case before the
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909:Russian LGBT network
852:"Gay propaganda" law
744:Principle 6 campaign
649:Copy of the judgment
542:Parties' submissions
803:Alekseyev v. Russia
605:Bączkowski v Poland
450:Bączkowski v Poland
392:freedom of assembly
357:President of Russia
221:, 13 and 14 of the
185:Alekseyev v. Russia
19:Alekseyev v. Russia
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129:Sverre Erik Jebens
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583:(July 23, 2021).
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499:Karner v Austria
474:Nizhniy Novgorod
365:Alexander Garden
339:Tverskaya Street
313:Tverskaya Street
301:Alexander Garden
235:Nikolay Alexeyev
204:Nikolay Alexeyev
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581:EJIL: Talk!
324:(ILGA) and
247:LGBT rights
219:Articles 11
1022:Categories
626:References
470:inter alia
229:Background
223:Convention
104:Nina Vajić
72:Article 11
436:diversity
432:pluralism
239:Alekseyev
87:President
795:Case law
769:Chechnya
588:See also
527:post-hoc
384:Alexeyev
379:Judgment
159:Majority
982:Moscow
931:Culture
871:Gayrope
702:History
344:roubles
210:of the
49:English
37:Chamber
976:Venues
939:Events
761:Rights
694:Russia
609:Warsaw
394:under
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259:Moscow
243:Moscow
98:Judges
65:Ruling
59:Russia
960:Media
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40:First
967:Kvir
690:LGBT
442:and
317:OMON
29:Case
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