Case of Bayev and Others v. Russia
Bayev ve Diğerleri / Rusya Kararı
Efser ERDEN TÜTÜNCÜ
The case concerned a complaint brought by three gay rights activists about legislation in Russia banning the promotion of homosexuality, also known as the “gay propaganda law”. In a series of legislative acts - most recently in 2013 - “promoting non-traditional sexual relationships” among minors was made an offence punishable by a fine. As a protest against these laws, the three activists had staged demonstrations between 2009 and 2012. They were subsequently found guilty of administrative offences and given fines.
In the case of Bayev and Others v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights held (by six votes to one) that there had been a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and a violation of Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with Article 10 of the Convention.
The Court found in particular that, although the laws in question aimed primarily at protecting minors, the limits of those laws had not been clearly defined and their application had been arbitrary. Moreover, the very purpose of the laws and the way they were formulated and applied in the applicants’ case had been discriminatory and, overall, served no legitimate public interest.
Freedom of Expression, LGBT Rights, Prohibition of Discrimination, Gay Propaganda Ban, Russian Anti-LGBT Laws.
Karar, üç LGBT savunucusunun Rusya’da “gey propaganda yasası” olarak bilinen gençleri homoseksüelliğe özendirme yasağı ile ilgili olarak yargılanmasına ilişkindir. En sonuncusu 2013 yılında olmak üzere bir dizi yasama faaliyeti ile, küçükleri “geleneksel olmayan cinsel ilişkilere özendirme”, Rusya’da para cezası yaptırımına bağlanmıştır. Bu yasalara karşı üç aktivist 2009 ila 2012 yılları arasında çeşitli gösteriler gerçekleştirmişler ve bilahare, ilgili kabahatler bakımından suçlu bulunarak para cezası ile cezalandırılmışlardır. Bayev ve diğerleri/Rusya kararında AİHM, oyçokluğu ile (6’ya 1 karşı oy) Sözleşme’nin 10’uncu ve 10’uncu madde (düşünce özgürlüğü) ile bağlantılı olarak 14’üncü maddesinin (ayrımcılık yasağı) ihlal edildiğine karar vermiştir. Mahkeme, ilgili yasal düzenlemelerin küçüklerin korunması amacı taşıyor olmalarına karşın, bu yasalardaki sınırların açıkça ortaya konmadığı ve uygulamasının keyfi olduğu görüşündedir. Bunun ötesinde, ilgili yasaların amacı ve özellikle düzenleniş biçimleri ile somut olayda başvuranlara uygulanışının ayrımcı olduğuna kanaat getirilmiş ve genel olarak hiçbir kamu yararı taşımadığı belirtilmiştir.
Düşünce Özgürlüğü, LGBT Hakları, Ayrımcılık Yasağı, Homoseksüel Propaganda Yasağı, Rus Anti-LGBT Yasaları.
I. The Facts
The applicants (Nikolay Bayev, Aleksey Kiselev and Nikolay Alekseyev) are Russian nationals and gay rights activists who live in Moscow and Gryazy (Russia). Starting from 2003, several legal arrangements1 have been made on prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality among minors at regional and after a while at federal scale:,
- On 3 April 2006 the Ryazan Regional Duma adopted the Law on Protection of the Morality of Children in the Ryazan Oblast, which prohibited public activities aimed at the promotion of homosexuality among minors.
- On 4 December 2008 the Ryazan Regional Duma adopted the Law on Administrative Offences, which introduced administrative liability for public activities aimed at the promotion of homosexuality among minors.
- On 30 September 2011 the Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly of Deputies passed amendments to the Law on Separate Measures for the Protection of the Morality and Health of Children in the Arkhangelsk Oblast. The amended law prohibited public activities aimed at the promotion of homosexuality among minors.
- On 21 November 2011 the Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly of Deputies passed amendments to the Regional Law on Administrative Offences. The amendments introduced administrative liability for public activities aimed at the promotion of homosexuality among minors.
- On 7 March 2012 the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly passed amendments to the Law on Administrative Offences in St Petersburg. The amendments introduced administrative liability for public activities aimed at the promotion of homosexuality, bisexuality and/or transgenderism among minors; the same law introduced administrative liability for promotion of paedophilia.
- Federal Law no. 124-FZ of 24 July 1998 “On the Main Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation” (amended on 21 July 2013 and 29 June 2013).
