Residents want flights restricted to daytime hours
The court decided flights between 11pm and 6am infringe a person's right to have a good night's sleep, covered by article eight of the convention on rights.
Airlines and airports across the country are likely to be affected by the decision, although it is not clear what short-term action the UK Government will take.
Members of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (Hacan) say their sleep is badly affected by about 16 aircraft which arrive at Heathrow between four and six o'clock in the morning.
Nightly noise
A ban at Heathrow would stop all aircraft from taking off and landing in the night period and could be followed by challenges by anti-noise groups at other UK airports.
The ruling is not binding on the government, although the convention on which it is based is now in UK law as the Human Rights Act.
The Department of Transport has indicated there will be no immediate changes to night flying while the the judgement is fully studied.
Hacan chairman John Stewart celebrated with champagne as he described the ruling, which gave £4,000 damages to each plaintiff, as "great news" for everybody under the flightpath.
"A small group of residents has taken on the UK Government and won. The government may appeal, but I don't think it will.
Mr Stewart added: "This ruling has opened the way for residents' groups across Europe to challenge night flying.
"The ban at Heathrow could be the first of many in the UK and Europe.
"East Midlands airport residents will particularly welcome this ruling as they suffer from a lot of overnight freight traffic."
A spokesman for airport operator BAA at Heathrow said it would continue working to find improvements.
Difficult balance
"We must wait and see how the government responds to understand what the impact may be for Heathrow.
"We have always recognised there is a difficult balance for government to strike on night flights between passengers' demand to fly, airlines' operational requirements, and the impact on local communities."
One resident living under the flight path, Virginia Godfrey, described the nightly noise from aircraft as intolerable.
She told the BBC: "It's loud enough to wake you up, and loud enough that you don't get back to sleep again once you've been woken up."