The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has issued judgment that mandatory vaccinations of children under the Czech Republic’s health policy do not violate Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. A Jurist report notes that the policy, mandated by Section 46 of the Public Health Protection Act, requires long-term residents to undergo routine vaccinations covered by public health insurance.
Section 50 of the Act further states that unvaccinated children could be excluded from pre-schools. This case results from an evaluation of complaints initiated by several parents between 2013 to 2015. The parents had been fined by the government for not vaccinating their children, and some of the children were excluded from school until they obtained the required vaccinations.
As a result of the penalties, the parents lodged individual complaints to the ECHR, alleging the statutory duty of vaccination violated their right to private life provided under Article 8.
In addressing the complaint the Court ruled that the mandatory statute is necessary for a democratic society because vaccinations answer a ‘pressing social need’ and is justified so long as it is ‘relevant and sufficient’ and proportionate to a legitimate aim.
While the judgement does not explain whether the principles can be applied to COVID-19 vaccinations, ECHR legal expert Nicholas Hervieu stated that the judgment has put the idea of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations on the table.