Ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court Condemns Parliamentary Inquiry Committee of the Portuguese Parliament

On 9 January 2025, the Judges of the Administrative Litigation Division of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled to condemn the Portuguese Parliament, ordering it to cease the use, in any context – public, formal, informal, or communicational – of the designation "Parliamentary Inquiry Committee – Twins treated with the drug Zolgensma."

The Court found a violation of the fundamental rights to a good name, privacy, and personal self-determination of the appellants, represented by their mother.

The judgment at issue concludes that the use of the designation "Parliamentary Inquiry Committee – Twins treated with the drug Zolgensma" in both internal and external communications, as well as in its digital identity – which does not even correspond to the formally adopted name for the committee – establishes, according to common experience, a connection between an alleged unlawful or unethical behaviour potentially underlying the treatment with the drug and elements identifying two minor children. This improperly and unlawfully infringes: their right to a good name, as neither they nor their actions are the subject of parliamentary scrutiny, and their right to privacy, by failing to ensure the “right to anonymity” in the context of treatment within the National Health Service (SNS).

Read the full ruling.