8. April 2021 – The European Court of Human Rights has rejected several appeals against compulsory vaccinations for children. The judges ruled that requiring parents to vaccinate their children against contagious diseases does not violate the Convention on Human Rights. Rather, they stated that it was proportionate for a state to protect its citizens in this way.

In the Czech Republic there is a general legal obligation to vaccinate children against nine well-known diseases, such as measles, tetanus and hepatitis B. Parents who do not comply with this obligation, without good reason, may be fined, and children who have not been vaccinated are not admitted to nursery schools. In this case, some of the applicants had seen their children refused admission to nursery school, while others had been fined for refusing to vaccinate their children. The Court found that the contested measures, when assessed in the national context, had struck a fair balance with the aims pursued by the Czech State, i.e. protection against diseases representing a serious risk for one’s health.

For the full decision, see here. For the press release, see here.