Avenue de l'Europe
Salgueiro da Silva Mouta v. Portugal 
| 1999
The Court of Appeal made a distinction based on considerations regarding the applicant’s sexual orientation, a distinction which is not acceptable under the convention.
Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, 21 December 1999
A lower court granted João Salgueiro da Silva Mouta custody of his daughter, after he and his wife got divorced. However, his ex-wife abducted the child and refused to let the girl see him.
When the Court of Appeal examined the case, it gave custody to the mother rather than João. One of the reasons given was that João was gay – and homosexuality was an abnormality that children should not be exposed to when growing up.
The European court found that João Salgueiro da Silva Mouta’s homosexuality had been decisive in the authorities’ refusal to grant him custody. This had been discriminatory, with no proper justification.
The Portuguese courts re-examined the case without taking into consideration João's homosexuality.
Following the European court’s judgment, Portuguese courts are no longer able to take the sexual orientation of a parent into account when deciding on custody rights.
An NGO organised a series of demonstrations in Warsaw, to highlight discrimination against women and minorities. The gatherings were banned, after the city’s mayor said that he was against them because they included support for gay rights. The European court ruled that the ban violated the right to public assembly. This led to changes to Polish law to protect the right to protest.
Mrs Airey wanted to be legally separated from her husband, who was allegedly a violent alcoholic. However, there was no legal aid and she could not afford the lawyers’ fees. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the lack of legal aid effectively denied Mrs Airey access to a court, breaching her basic rights. Legal aid for such cases was introduced in Ireland in the following year.
David Norris suffered from anxiety attacks and depression after realising that any open expression of his homosexuality could lead to a criminal prosecution. The European court ruled that the criminalisation of his sexuality breached his basic rights. In 1993, this led to the full legalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults under Irish law.
Portugal
Poland
Ireland