Protection of Personal Non-Property Rights of Spouses in the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights
Authors: Vatras Volodymyr ,   Doctor of Legal Science, Professor, Department of Civil Law and Process, Leonid Yuzkov Khmelnytskyi University of Management and Law, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.
Published: July 2024

The protection of personal non-property rights is essential for the state since it demonstrates the ability to protect the rights and interests of a person. The study on the protection of spouses’ non-property rights is based on the guarantee to married persons of their inalienable right to parenthood, which they may acquire while married, the right to personal development of spouses, to prohibition of discrimination against each other, to respect for their honor and dignity, to engage in certain activities which affect development and bring pleasure. The relevance of studying this issue is linked to the need to protect these rights in the international human rights body – the ECHR. The latter guarantees a person’s rights and freedoms and helps restore the violated right that arose in local courts in the process of hearing cases and rendering decisions. This article aims to study the peculiarities of the non-property rights of spouses in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Results. Every state must guarantee security and stability for its citizens and protect them from various encroachments on their rights and freedoms. The issue of preserving the non-property rights of spouses is one of the main issues of family law that is under protection. However, while living together, spouses may occasionally encounter cases that must be resolved. If they cannot reach a consensus themselves, they turn to the courts to protect and restore their violated rights. The legislation of each state has its own specifics. Therefore, the resolution of issues related to the protection of personal non-property rights is a separate and essential category of family law cases that requires a thorough study and immediate resolution. The protection of non-property rights of spouses in Ukrainian and international courts has its own trial specifics. The ECHR, when considering certain categories of cases, identifies all the essential circumstances. The ECHR is guided by the Convention, which guarantees respect for private and family life. At the same time, the European Court of Human Rights recognizes human rights and human interests as the highest value. Following the Charter of the Council of Europe, each member of the European Council must acknowledge the rule of law and the principle that all persons under its jurisdiction enjoy fundamental human rights and freedoms. The article deals with the peculiarities of protecting spouses’ non-property rights. The author determines which rights should be classified as “personal non-property” ones and how the rights of persons who have been violated are restored. The article analyzes the European practice of restoring violated non-property rights in certain situations related to the personal non-property rights of spouses. The author summarizes the importance of protecting personal non-property rights in Ukrainian courts and restoring the violated rights in the ECHR.