European Court of Justice: "Compulsory vaccination is necessary in a democratic society"

The Court responds to an appeal by parents of children who were not admitted to Czech kindergartens because they were not vaccinated.

vaccine AP21097724654826 European Court of Justice, compulsory vaccination

"Necessary in a democratic society" is compulsory vaccination according to a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights. 

The Court responds to an appeal by parents of children who were not admitted to Czech kindergartens because they were not vaccinated.

"The decision supports the possibility of a conditional vaccination obligation in the context of the current epidemic of Covid-19"Commented the Court's expert lawyer Nicolas Ervier, stressing" the margin of appreciation left by the Court in the States in determining vaccination policy ".

Nicolas Ervier also points out that the Court's ruling "establishes a general consensus on the beneficial effects of vaccination, which are not called into question by the inevitable side effects, as long as there is strict scientific scrutiny".

The Court adopts "the principle of social solidarity which can justify the imposition of vaccination on all, even those who feel least at risk of the disease, once the issue of protecting the most vulnerable is raised".

In its judgment, the European Court of Human Rights considers that the mandatory vaccination of children in the Czech Republic against nine diseases does not constitute a breach of the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding the "right to respect for private life".

"Vaccination policy sets the legitimate goals of protecting the health and rights of others, protecting both those who are vaccinated and those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons," the text of the decision reads.

"The latter accept the benefits of collective immunity to protect themselves from these serious infectious diseases."

The Czech Republic "therefore has a wide margin of appreciation in this context," the Court said in its ruling, whose decisions are not subject to appeal. "The best interests of the child must prevail in all decisions concerning them."

"If the denial of access by the plaintiffs' children to the kindergarten means the loss of a critical opportunity for the development of their personality, it is a rather precautionary than punitive measure, the results are limited in time," the European Court of Human Rights said in a statement. Human.

Source: RES-EAP