Our achievements

The human rights and the health sector

•  Patients’rights

2013 | Based on the Supreme Court’s decision, which affirmed our objections regarding the fact that the damages in the value of 150.000 CZK due to an unlawful removal of the ovaries without any informed consent were insufficient, our client was awarded a compensation of twice the original value, in other words, 300.000 CZK.

2012 | We reached a settlement between our client, who has submitted a complaint regarding an unlawful sterilization at the European Court of Human Rights, and the Czech government. The acceptance of the misconduct was a part of the agreement, along with the compensation in the amount of 10.000 EUR.

2012 | We have replied to a jubilee 3000^th inquiry in our free legal advisory service for the patients.

2012 | We helped the girl, who was raped by her gynecologist, to gain a compensation of 100.000 CZK. The doctor was sentenced enforceably and the court issued an injunction forbidding him to perform the medical practice.

2011 | We represented a successful claim of 100.000 CZK compensation for a woman, who had delivered her child at home and therefore was unwillingly transported to the hospital by the medics and the called up police. By doing this, we have triggered series of frenetic discussions about the issue of the home deliveries and the absence of any community care of the women in labor and the newborns.

2011 | The court found the mother, who was prosecuted for not having her two children vaccinated and for refusing the social workers to enter her apartment, not guilty. The court accepted our argumentation, that as non-vaccination is not a minor offence, it cannot be regarded as a crime.

2010 | We helped the parents, who refused to continue in vaccination  of their 2 years old son, in a way that they were not obliged to pay a fine of 10.000 CZK. The Ministry of Health decided on this case.

2010 | Our clients were compensated for the interventions to their bodies performed without any informed consent by awarded damages of 150.000 CZK and 200.000 CZK. This was the first sign showing that the courts started to approach the rights of the patients seriously.

2009 | We have interfered into a case of newborn’s parents being bullied by the state officials, who sent the state police against them since the parents had decided not to have their son vaccinated. As a result of our intervention, the police have stopped interrogating this case.

2008 |  We commenced the free legal advisory service project – The Fair Hospital – within which we help the patients to know their rights.

2007 | The court declared the unwilling hospitalization of a woman, who had required our help, as unlawful.

2006 | We achieved a significant change in the health care system: The patients have gained the right of access to their medical records.

• The disabled people

2012 | We achieved a significant success at the European Court of Human Rights. In the case of Mr. Bureš regarding the unlawful use of the tie-up measures on the mentally disabled individual, this was the first sentence to the Czech Republic due to the humiliating treatment. In the second case of Mr. Sýkora, the Court has criticized the practice of depriving the legal capacity and the consent of the guardian. In both these cases, which contribute to the adjustment of the legislation in the Czech Republic, the Court awarded the compensation of 20.000 EUR.

2012 | We shot a documentary movie The Fences (Ploty) dealing with the topic of employment of disabled individuals. This film has been made in the Czech Republic, England, Finland and the Netherlands.

2012  | The Civil Code passed the legislation process with adjustments based on our arguments. The new codex, which is going to enter into force in 2014, will not enable the courts to deprive the individuals of the legal capacity.

2011 | We have successfully represented and won 240.000 CZK for the women, who were deprived of the legal capacity unlawfully.

2011 | Along with the Center of advocacy for mentally disabled, we achieved the 200.000 CZK compensation for a woman, who was deprived of legal capacity unlawfully.

2011 | Consequently to our impulse, the court has affirmed that even a mentally ill person has a right to attend a court hearing regarding his own destiny.

2010 | The court found that a woman, whom the city council tried to deprive of her legal capacity, has a right to live her life according to her will.

2008 | We convinced the Constitutional Court to restore the legal capacity and the right of a private and family life to a woman, who suffered an unlawful impoundment of her children due to her debts.

2008 | The Ministry of Justice compensated our client for a misconduct of courts within the proceedings regarding the legal capacity, the duration of which was over 12 years. The Town Court in Brno has committed series of serious failures and violations of the law. The injured party was awarded 106.000 CZK.

• Unlawful sterilization

2011 | Due to our argumentation, the Supreme Court confirmed that the sterilization cannot become time-barred.  

2007 | We succeeded in another case of unlawful sterilization of a woman during her labor. The court awarded the injured party with a compensation of 500.000 CZK.

2005 | Our first victory in the case of forced sterilization of women: The court in Ostrava has affirmed the claim of justice of the victim for the first time in the middle and east Europe.

 

Children’s rights

• The Education sector

2012 | We managed to integrate a handicapped boy into a common primary school. This pupil had been refused in 13 schools due to his diagnosed child autism with unspecified mental retardation and developmental dysphasia of the speech. We submitted a complaint to the Constitutional Court against the approach of these schools, the next school has accepted the pupil without any problem.

2011 | We received a prestigious award of ERSTE Foundation for social integration.

2010 | We shot a documentary movie Fair schools (Školy na férovku) regarding the education of all the children without any exemption in ordinary schools.

2008 | We created a Fair School Certificate, which is granted to the primary schools supporting the inclusive education of all children without any exemptions. The award helps to increase the quality of education of the inconvenienced children.

• Endangered children

2012 | The Constitutional Court appointed us as guardian ad litem of a child within a dispute of its parents regarding the contact with their son. In fact, the bodies of the social-legal protection of the child are usually appointed as the legal guardian of the minor in the court trial. However, in this case, for the first time the court gave the priority to the League as an expert organization, which focuses on this topic in long-term and therefore could bring a fresh point of view into the case.

2011| We convinced the court to return the daughters, who have lived in a social facility for over three years, into the custody of the parents.

2011| We managed to have a son returned to his father, who was ordered the state facility nurture after the family lost its accommodation due to the father’s injury and loss of employment.

2011| We helped to win the court dispute to a woman, who claimed the foster custody of her grandson. The seven years old boy could therefore return into the family environment after over a year.

2011| We celebrate another success on an international level: The OSN Committee on the Rights of the Child received our critical comments on the children’s rights situation in the Czech Republic and these were taken into account in the final recommendations.

2007 | We won the court dispute of a woman, whose children were taken away from her and put into a state facility due to the social distress of the family.

The court has found the order of the nurture in the state facility as groundless.

2003 | Based on our requirement, the OSN Committee on the Rights of the Child started to deal with the form of interrogation regarding the abuse of police power towards children.

2002 | The OSN Committee on the Rights of the Child received our comments on the current situation in the Czech Republic.

 

The justice and police

• Human rights problem of the judiciary

2009 | Following our impulse, the Ministry of justice decided on the obligation of the courts to make the decisions in the unclosed cases accessible to the public.

• Abuse of the police power

2012 | Based on our arguments, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Czech authorities had investigated the circumstances of the death of a 23 years old man at a police station in Brno in 2002 insufficiently. The court found that a violence of the right of life occurred and awarded the residuary family members with a compensation of 20.000 EUR.

2012 | Since January the independent authority of police control has been functioning. The establishment of this authority had been our long-term goal. The purpose of this body is to investigate the crimes committed by police independently. Regarding this issue, a new law about the General inspection of the security forces has entered into force

2011 | The Regional court in Plzeň ruled that the police intervention against the participants of the blockade in order to prevent cutting the trees in Šumava was unlawful.

2010 | Our further legal action in the case of the attack of the participants in the dance event CzechTek was successful. The court has determined the compensation of the injured parties, who were illegally attacked by the police.

2008 | In the case of the gypsy family assaulted by the police in 2003 the court ruled in favor of the injured party. Therefore, the offensive policeman was obliged to pay 110.000 CZK to the victims.

2008 | The first of our four lawsuits in the case of the dance festival CzechTek succeeded. The Ministry of Internal Affairs had to pay in total 30.000 CZK to two injured people due to the illegal intervention of the police.

2004 | The prosecutor confirmed our claims in the case of physical violence against two foreigners committed by the police.

• The victims’ rights

2007 | The victim of a racialy motivated assault, who was represented by us in the court in 2003, was awarded a compensation of 100.000 CZK.

2005 | We won the case of the victim of the racial violence, who was awarded a monetary compensation of the property damage. This decision was a significant step in order to ensure a more effective protection of the victims of racial violence.

 

Further achievements

 

2004 | The International Federation for Human Rights accepted the League as its member.

2004 | The founder of the League of Human Rights Jiří Kopal was awarded The Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award, the award granted for the courage shown while dealing with the problem of police violence and for promoting the principles of the open civil society in the Czech Republic.