Concern over Elósegui appointment to European Court of Human Rights
ILGA-Europe and other NGO’s express concern over revelations about newly elected judge at the European Court of Human Rights, María Elosegui’s homophobic and transphobic publications and statements.
The appointment to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) of Spanish jurist and Professor of Philosophy of Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zaragoza, María Elósegui Itxaso is a cause for concern for NGO’s working in the LGBTI sector, including ILGA-Europe.
Elósegui, the first female Spanish judge on the court, has made various homophobic, transphobic and anti-feminist statements over the years.
The European Court of Human Rights has been the source of many powerful judgments that protect the rights of LGBTI people. Its 47 judges are at the very core of that work.
ILGA-Europe are passionate advocates for human rights and take our strategic litigation work at European level incredibly seriously. The judges who hear cases at the Strasbourg court are not only highly qualified legal professionals, but they are also a personification of the major decisions being handed down. Decisions that can literally change people’s lives.
We hope that all judges elected to serve at the ECtHR do so with an open mind, free from bias. Any suggestion of anti-LGBTI bias obviously gives us cause for concern.
ILGA-Europe are therefore concerned by the revelations about Judge Elosegui’s reported homo- and transphobic publications and statements, as reproduced in recent media articles, that came to light just after her election last week. Together with organisations specialised in litigation and Spanish human rights groups, we are monitoring the situation and will assess any further information, as and when it arises.
Co-signed by:
