Professor Stefaan Smis has been appointed ad hoc judge at the European Court of Human Rights. His first case to deal with was Mortier v Belgium. Now he is handling the cases RTBF v Belgium and Test-Achats v Belgium. An ad hoc judge is appointed when no ordinary judge is available and has the same power as such an ordinary judge.
"In the RTBF case, the French-speaking public broadcaster invoked freedom of expression to challenge a conviction pronounced following the broadcasting of a TV report," explains Stefaan Smis.
"In the Test-Achats case, the consumer organisation claims the impartiality of an insurance expert appointed by the Brussels Court of Appeal, relying on the principle of equality of arms and the principle of contradiction, recognised as part of the right to a fair trial."
Meanwhile, the court ruled in Mortier v Belgium and found in favour of Belgium. It did make the note that there was a lack of effective ex post control of the legality of the euthanasia.
The case concerned the mother of Tom Mortier, who suffered from chronic depression and therefore asked for euthanasia. Although her son, with whom she had severed all contact, was informed of his mother's wish to be euthanised, he never responded. As a close relative, he was officially informed of her death the day after the euthanasia.
International human rights protection
Prof Dr Stefaan Smis is a member of the International and European Law Department of the Faculty of Law and Criminology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and vice-president of the Fundamental Rights and Constitutionalism (FRC) Research Group. He teaches courses on international law, international protection of human rights and international dispute resolution. At the University of Westminster (UK - London), he holds a position as Reader in International Law.
At the European Court of Human Rights, ad hoc judges are appointed by the President of the Chamber. This happens when the ordinary judge elected by the state party to the European Convention on Human Rights is prevented from attending, withdraws or is excused, or when there is no judge. The ad hoc judge has the same qualifications as ordinary judges and has the same rights in the proceedings.