Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos (TEDH)

The Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos (TEDH), or European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), is an international court based in Strasbourg, France, that rules on alleged violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is newsworthy because it recently rejected a request to review a case brought by Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, and Jordi Sànchez, prominent Catalan separatist leaders. These leaders argued that their political rights were violated by Spain's Supreme Court when they were held in pre-trial detention during the 2017 Catalan independence referendum ('procés'). The ECHR's decision affirms its previous ruling that Spain did not violate their political rights by imposing pre-trial detention. This decision is significant as it concludes a legal challenge by the Catalan leaders at the European level, reinforcing the Spanish judicial system's handling of the case and impacting the ongoing political debate surrounding Catalan independence.