European Court Adopts Restrictive Interpretation of the Right of Access to a Court in Torture Cases

On March 15, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights – Grand Chamber (Court) delivered a judgment in the case of Nait-Liman v. Switzerland (application no. 51357/07). It held, by a majority (fifteen votes to two), that there had been no violation of Article 6 § 1 (right of access to a court) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR or the Convention). The case concerned the refusal by the Swiss courts to examine Mr Naït-Liman’s civil claim for compensation for the non-pecuniary damage arising from acts of torture allegedly inflicted on him in Tunisia.