PROCEDURE

The case was referred to the Court as two separate cases (Stubbings and Others v. the United Kingdom and D.S. v. the United Kingdom) on 12 April 1995 by the European Commission of Human Rights (“the Commission“) and on 3 May 1995 by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“the Government“), within the three-month period laid down by Article 32 para. 1 and Article 47 of the Convention (art. 32-1, art. 47). The case of Stubbings and Others originated in an application (no. 22083/93) against the United Kingdom lodged with the Commission under Article 25 (art. 25) on 14 May 1993, by three British nationals, Ms Leslie Stubbings, Ms J.L. and Ms J.P. and the case of D.S. originated in an application (no. 22095/93) against the United Kingdom lodged on 14 June 1993 by Ms D.S., also a British national. The Commission’s request and the application of the Government referred to Articles 44 and 48 (art. 44, art. 48) and to the declaration whereby the United Kingdom recognised the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court (Article 46) (art. 46). The object of the request and of the application was to obtain a decision as to whether the facts of the cases disclosed a breach by the respondent State of its obligations under Articles 6, 8 and 14 of the Convention (art. 6, art. 8, art. 14).

In response to the enquiries made in accordance with Rule 33 para. 3 (d) of Rules of Court A, the applicants stated that they wished to take part in the proceedings and designated the lawyers who would represent them (Rule 30).

The President of the Court, Mr R. Ryssdal, decided that, in the interests of the proper administration of justice, the two cases should be heard by the same Chamber (Rule 21 para. 6).

The Chamber to be constituted included ex officio Sir John Freeland, the elected judge of British nationality (Article 43 of the Convention) (art. 43), and Mr R. Bernhardt, the Vice-President of the Court (Rule 21 para. 4 (b)). On 9 May 1995, in the presence of the Registrar, Mr Ryssdal drew by lot the names of the other seven members, namely Mr F. Gölcüklü, Mr R. Macdonald, Mr N. Valticos, Mr I. Foighel, Mr R. Pekkanen, Mr J.M. Morenilla and Mr J. Makarczyk (Article 43 in fine of the Convention and Rule 21 para. 5) (art. 43).

As President of the Chamber (Rule 21 para. 6), Mr Bernhardt, acting through the Registrar, consulted the Agent of the Government, the applicants’ lawyers and the Delegate of the Commission on the organisation of the proceedings (Rules 37 para. 1 and 38). Pursuant to the order made in consequence, the Registrar received the Government’s memorial on 3 January 1996 (a single memorial dealing with both cases: Rule 37 para. 3 in fine) and the applicants’ memorials on 4 January 1996.

In accordance with the President’s decision (Rules 37 para. 3 in fine and 39), a joint hearing of both cases took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 23 April 1996. The Court had held a preparatory meeting beforehand. There appeared before the Court: (a) for the Government Mr I. Christie, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Agent, Mr D. Anderson, Counsel, Mr M. Collon, Lord Chancellor’s Department, Adviser; (b) for the Commission Mr N. Bratza, Delegate; (c) for the applicants Ms Stubbings, J.L. and J.P. Mr K. Boyle, Counsel, Mr T. Fisher, Solicitor; (d) for the applicant D.S. Mr M. Wynne-Jones, Counsel, Mr P. Sykes, Solicitor. The Court heard addresses by Mr Bratza, Mr Boyle, Mr Fisher, Mr Wynne-Jones and Mr Anderson.

On 23 April 1996 the Chamber ordered the joinder of the two cases (Rule 37 para. 3 in fine).

AS TO THE FACTS

I. The circumstances of the case

(1) Ms Stubbings 8. Ms Leslie Stubbings was born on 29 January 1957. She was placed by a local authority in the care of Mr and Mrs Webb when she was nearly two years old and adopted by them when she was three. The Webbs had two children, of whom the elder, Stephen, was born on 21 July 1952. 9. Ms Stubbings alleges that she was sexually assaulted by Mr Webb and committed acts of indecency at his instigation on a number of occasions between December 1959 (before her adoption) and December 1971 (when she was fourteen years old). These were of a serious nature, although they did not involve full sexual intercourse. In addition, she alleges that Stephen Webb forced her to have sexual intercourse with him on two occasions in 1969 when she was twelve and he was seventeen. 10. Since 1976 Ms Stubbings has experienced severe psychological problems, which have led to her admission to hospital on three occasions. She has been variously diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia, emotional instability, paranoia, depression and agoraphobia, and she has once attempted suicide. 11. In September 1984, following treatment by a consultant child and family psychiatrist, she allegedly realised for the first time that there might be a connection between the childhood abuse and her mental health problems. 12. On 18 August 1987 she commenced proceedings against her adoptive parents and brother, seeking damages for the alleged assaults. The defendants applied to have the claim dismissed as time-barred under the Limitation Act 1980 (“the 1980 Act“: see paragraph 35 below). 13. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal which considered the case were bound by earlier authority (Letang v. Cooper: see paragraph 32 below) to hold that Ms Stubbings’ claim was based on a “breach of duty“ within the meaning of section 11 of the 1980 Act (see paragraph 35 below). The limitation period for such actions was three years, either from the date on which the cause accrued or from the date on which the plaintiff first knew the injury in question was both significant and attributable to the defendants. Section 33 of the 1980 Act provided that the court could allow such an action to proceed even if commenced after the expiry of the three‑year period where it would be equitable to do so (see paragraph 35 below). 14. The High Court found in favour of the defendants, ruling that Ms Stubbings’ “date of knowledge“ was more than three years before the commencement of proceedings. The Court of Appeal, however, accepted Ms Stubbings’ argument that although she had always remembered that she had been abused by Mr Webb and Stephen, she did not realise that she had suffered sufficiently serious injury as to justify bringing a claim until September 1984, when she came to understand the causal link between the assaults and her mental health problems. 15. The defendants appealed to the House of Lords (Stubbings v. Webb [1993] Appeal Cases, p. 498). Lord Griffiths, with whom the other four law lords agreed, doubted that the “date of knowledge“ was as late as September 1984, since “I have the greatest difficulty in accepting that a woman who has been raped does not know that she has suffered a significant injury“. Furthermore, after considering the report of the Tucker Committee (see paragraph 31 below), he held that the words “breach of duty“ in section 11 (1) of the 1980 Act did not embrace actions based on intentionally inflicted injuries, such as rape and indecent assault. Instead, these types of claim were subject to the six-year limitation period provided for in section 2 of the 1980 Act. This limit, which could not be disapplied by the court, started to run from the plaintiff’s eighteenth birthday (section 28: see paragraph 35 below). The claim was therefore out of time. (2) Ms J.L. 16. Ms J.L. was born in 1962. She alleges that between 1968 and September 1979 she was frequently abused by her father, who took pornographic photographs of her and subjected her to serious assaults of a sexual nature. 17. Between 1981 and 1991, she suffered from bouts of depression and found it difficult to form relationships. In 1990 she began to have nightmares about her childhood abuse. Finally, in October 1990, she asked her doctor for help and he referred her to a psychologist. At this time, she allegedly gained insight into the connection between the abuse and her mental health problems for the first time. Initially this worsened her condition, causing her to attempt suicide in December 1990. 18. In January 1991 she consulted solicitors with a view to commencing proceedings for damages against her father. Legal aid was granted and a writ was issued on 26 March 1991. A medical report prepared in May 1991 for the purposes of the litigation described her as suffering from severe psychological damage, which manifested itself in an inability to trust others, constant mood swings, insomnia and anxiety. According to the report, she was likely to remain damaged for the rest of her life and would have an increased risk of developing a mental illness. 19. Ms J.L. also reported the alleged abuse to the police. They interviewed her and her father, but in September 1991 decided not to bring charges. When she was informed of this decision she made another attempt at suicide. 20. Following the decision of the House of Lords in Stubbings v. Webb (see paragraph 15 above), her civil claim against her father was discontinued on the advice of counsel that it had become time-barred in 1986, six years after her eighteenth birthday. (3) Ms J.P. 21. Ms J.P. was born in 1958. Between the ages of five and seven she attended a state primary school in Highgate, London, but her parents withdrew her in 1966 because she had become depressed and withdrawn and was suffering from nightmares. It appeared that the Deputy Headmaster, a Mr P., had been removing her from lessons, purportedly to look after his two-year-old daughter. 22. From that time onwards, Ms J.P. had difficulty in sustaining relationships and felt “different“ and lonely. Following her father’s death in 1985 she suffered extreme feelings of bereavement, which eventually drove her to seek psychiatric help. She underwent a course of therapy which, in February 1989, prompted her to experience a violent recall of being subjected to sexual abuse by Mr P. She subsequently recovered memories of other assaults by him, including incidents of rape. 23. In October 1991 she instructed solicitors to commence proceedings for damages against Mr P. and a writ was issued on 10 February 1992. However, legal aid was withdrawn and the action was discontinued following the decision of the House of Lords in Stubbings v. Webb (see paragraph 15 above), because her claim had become time-barred in January 1982. (4) Ms D.S. 24. Ms D.S. was born in 1962. Between 1968 and 1977 she was allegedly subjected to repeated sexual assaults by her father, including acts of rape. She asserted that, as a result of the abuse, she suffered from feelings of despair, depression, fear and guilt and found it difficult to sustain relationships. 25. On 15 March 1991 D.S.’s father pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent assault based on his abuse of her. He was sentenced to one year’s probation. 26. The applicant considered that this was insufficient punishment and she therefore instituted civil proceedings against her father on 14 August 1992. A report from a psychologist stated that it would have been impossible for her to have taken this step earlier, because she had largely blocked out memories of the abuse as a means of survival. 27. Her action was discontinued on 24 May 1993 following the House of Lords’ judgment in Stubbings v. Webb (see paragraph 15 above), since her claim had been brought outside the six-year time-limit held in that case to apply.