The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled that obligatory vaccinations can be seen as necessary in democratic societies, in a landmark judgement after a complaint brought by Czech families over compulsory jabs for children.
“The… measures could be regarded as being ‘necessary in a democratic society'” the court said in its judgement, saying that the Czech health policy was consistent with the “best interests” of children.
“The objective has to be that every child is protected against serious diseases, through vaccination or by virtue of herd immunity,” it added.
As a result, the court ruled there had been no violation of Article 8 on the right to respect for private life of the European Convention on Human Rights.
This is the first time that the ECHR has delivered a judgement about compulsory vaccination against childhood diseases. Experts say it could have implications for any policy of compulsory vaccinations against Covid-19 in the pandemic.
The case had been filed to the ECHR by Czech parents who were fined for failure to comply with this vaccination duty or whose children were denied admission to nursery school for the same reason.
Read more via DW
Main Photo: The courtroom in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, EPA-EFE/PATRICK SEEGER
Disinformation is no longer spreading only through fringe actors or political agitators, but through a digital system that rewards outrage, sensationalism and engagement above accuracy, ...
EU leaders have asked officials to prepare a blueprint for how the bloc's previously obscure mutual assistance clause would work, host Cyprus said at a summit on Friday, amid doubts ov...
Morning Briefing
€2.8bn rail project to reshape Malta’s transport network
Malta plans to build a 24-kilometre light rail line linking St Paul’s Bay to the airport as part of a wide...
Updated 1010
Parliament approves “living wills” law granting patients right to refuse future treatmentParliament has approved legislation introducing "living wills", giving citizens t...
Disinformation is no longer spreading only through fringe actors or political agitators, but through a digital system that rewards outrage, sensationalism and engagement above accuracy, ...
The European Parliament is moving closer to finalising its position on the EU’s next long-term budget, setting the stage for a key institutional milestone in shaping the 2028–2034 Multia...
Porsche has agreed to sell its stakes in sportscar makers Bugatti and Rimac to a consortium led by a U.S. fund co-founded by a scion of Egypt's billionaire Sawiris family, one of the c...
Greece will no longer be the euro zone's most indebted country by the end of this year, with its public debt set to fall below Italy's, according to sources and data from Italy's new b...
“A company’s workplace culture praised by management, needs to be taken with caution. But when the recognition comes directly from employees, that carries greater weight,” says JONATHAN ...
EU lawmakers have approved new rules aimed at strengthening how failing banks are managed, extending protections to a wider range of institutions and depositors across the bloc.
The p...
Malta Public Transport announces that it will be operating two additional evening trips between Mġarr and Nadur in Gozo on Saturday 18 April 2026 to facilitate passenger travel following...
In line with its mission to drive a truly digital Malta, GO plc is making giga-speed internet the entry point for all business customers, with six months completely free for new Business...
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a virtual standstill on Monday with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data.
The oil prod...
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, say Iran carries out more executions per capita than any other country, and more in total than any nation except China, where reliable fig...
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
Russian forces have taken 1,700 square km (656 square miles) of territory in Ukraine this year and are advancing on its so-called fortress belt in Donbas, Moscow's top general said whil...
Russia unleashed its deadliest attack so far this year on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities overnight, killing 16 people, including a 12-year-old child, and wounding scores, i...
