[1] The ECtHR in Strasbourg ruled in Osman v. United Kingdom that a positive obligation "must be interpreted in a way which does not impose an impossible or disproportionate burden on the authorities".
The most prominent field of application of positive obligations is Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Important cases have been taken to the ECtHR which over the last ten years has moved to making positive obligations especially in the field of transsexuals right to decide if they want surgery to convert their bodies as far as possible from one sex to the other.
However, there are still countries, especially the UK, which refuse to accept the legality of the positive obligations on them regardless of the fact that this makes them liable to being found guilty of Article 8 violations.
In 2021, the ECtHR ruled in Fedotova and Others v. Russia that there was a positive obligation to recognize same-sex partnerships based on article 8.