Algeria

European Court Holds France's Payment of a Supplementary Allowance to Algerian War Soldiers of Arab or Berber Origin Was Justified

London, 5 February 2014

On 23 January 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in the case of Montoya v France, found that the provision of a supplementary monetary award to Arab and Berber former auxiliary fighters during the Algerian war, but not those of European origin, was not a violation of the right to non-discrimination under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the Convention) as the differential treatment of the particular group could be justified.