European Court of Human Right,  Case of Humpert and others v. Germany

For the first time, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled on prohibition of the right to strike, in a judgment (summary in French) concerning teachers employed by the German Federal State, who have civil-servant status. They faced disciplinary sanctions for going on strike, which is a right denied to civil servants under the Constitution (see press release). The Court points out that the right to strike is one form of freedom of association, but is “only one aspect of the right to freedom of association” (Article 11 of the ECHR). It notes that the variety of different institutional safeguards put in place enable civil servants and their unions to effectively defend their professional interests. Consequently, the prohibition of strikes by teachers with civil-servant status did not render their trade-union freedom devoid of substance.