Bączkowski and Others v. Poland

[2] One day before the parade, on 10 June 2005, the organisers appealed to the Governor of the Mazowsze Voivodship, arguing that the city's decision had breached their right to peaceful assembly.

Additionally, the ruling affirmed that: The positive obligation of a State to secure genuine and effective respect for freedom of association and assembly was of particular importance to those with unpopular views or belonging to minorities, because they were more vulnerable to victimization.The court also stated that Poland had violated Article 14 of the Convention, because other marches which had taken place on the same day were not subject to the same conditions as the gay rights march and were allowed to take place.

[3] Furthermore, the court ruled that Article 13 of the Convention, relating to the right to an effective remedy, had been violated in that the organisers did not have any legal procedure at their disposal which would have enabled them to appeal the decision before the date on which the march was set to be held.

According to Robert Biedroń, the leader of Campaign Against Homophobia, a Polish LGBT rights organisation, the ruling represented a "very important step towards equality for gay and lesbian people in Poland and... also in several other countries in central and eastern Europe.

[5]Sarah Ludford, a Liberal Democrat MEP from the United Kingdom, declared that, "this judgement is extremely important as it is the first time that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled specifically on the question of banning Equality and Gay Pride marches.