Source: http://www.stopvaw.org/council_of_europe_-_european_court_of_human_rights
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 09:12:08+00:00

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Many of the cases heard by the Court over the years have involved violence against women, including issues of domestic violence. The following highlights some of the more recent decisions by the ECtHR that concerned domestic violence. The first case to hold that gender-based violence is a form of discrimination under the European Convention was Opuz v. Turkey in 2009. In that case, the failure of authorities to protect two women after years of domestic abuse was found to be a violation of ECHR Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination), Article 2 (right to life), and Article 3 (prohibition of torture). Highlighting the “overall unresponsiveness of the judicial system” and passivity of the police, the Court recognized domestic violence as an issue of public interest that demanded effective state action.
In the Case of E.S. and others v. Slovakia (2009), the Court held that the failure to protect women against domestic violence could be a violation of ECHR Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) as well as Article 3. In 2010, in the Case of Hajuova v. Slovakia, the Court also awarded compensation under Article 8 when Slovak authorities failed to protect the applicant from her former husband’s abusive and threatening behavior. Similarly, in the Case of A. v. Croatia (2010), the Court awarded compensation to the applicant for Croatian authorities’ failure to protect her against domestic violence by her mentally-ill husband, in violation of Article 8 of the Convention.
· Case of Branko Tomašić and others v. Croatia, 2009 (failure to intervene in domestic violence, which resulted in the death of a woman and her child, was a violation of Article 2 (right to life)).
· Case of Bevacqua and S. v. Bulgaria, 2008 (failure to provide appropriate interim custody provisions during divorce proceedings where father is abusive violates Article 8).
· Case of Kontrova v. Slovakia, 2007 (the failure to intervene after reports of abuse and death threats, which culminated in the death of applicant’s two children, was a violation of Article 2 and Article 13 (right to effective remedy)).
 Council of Europe, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as amended by Protocols Nos. 11 and 14, 4 Nov. 1950, ETS 5, http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/Header/Basic+Texts/The+Convention+and+additional+protocols/The+European+Convention+on+Human+Rights/ [hereinafter European Convention on Human Rights].
 Ibid., at Art. 2, 3, 14.
 Ibid., at Art. 34, 35.
 “The Court in Brief,” Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 2, http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/DF074FE4-96C2-4384-BFF6-404AAF5BC585/0/ENG_Court_in_brief.pdf.
 Opuz v. Turkey, Application no. 33401/02, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 9 June 2009, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a2f84392.html.
 Ibid. See also “Opuz v. Turkey,” INTERIGHTS, http://www.interights.org/opuz/index.html (providing commentary on the case).
 Maresti v. Croatia, Application no. 55759/07, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 25 June 2009, http://sljeme.usud.hr/usud/prakESen.nsf/Praksa/4E9634C4D98E1A80C125737D004CEBA1?OpenDocument.
 See “Implementation of Croatia’s Domestic Violence Legislation,” The Advocates for Human Rights at 15 – 18, 2012, http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/uploads/croatia_final_report_2012.pdf.
 E.S. and others v. Slovakia, Application no. 8227/04, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 15 Sept. 2009, http://menneskeret.dk/files/DoekerPDF/CASE_OF_E._S._AND_OTHERS_v._SLOVAKIA.pdf. See also “E.S. and others v. Slovakia: Summary,” Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, http://sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/CaseLaw/Hof.nsf/2422ec00f1ace923c1256681002b47f1/fba59b53aa7cc4fac125763200401d5b?OpenDocument (providing commentary on the case).
 Hajduova v. Slovakia, Application no. 2660/03, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 30 Nov. 2010, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4d5bca992.pdf. See also “Hajduova v. Slovakia: Summary,” Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, http://sim.law.uu.nl/sim/caselaw/Hof.nsf/1d4d0dd240bfee7ec12568490035df05/d78757809d7a9ac4c12577f10048b306?OpenDocument (providing commentary on the case).
 A v. Croatia, Application no. 55164/08, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 14 Oct. 2010, http://www.pravo.unizg.hr/_download/repository/ESLJP_A._protiv_Hrvatske.pdf. See also “A v. Croatia: Summary,” Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, http://sim.law.uu.nl/sim/caselaw/Hof.nsf/e4ca7ef017f8c045c1256849004787f5/801b8da90029932ec12577c000397dfa?OpenDocument (providing commentary on the case).
 Bevacqua and S. v. Bulgaria, Application no. 71127/01, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 12 June 2008, http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bulgaria/BEVACQUA.pdf.
 Kontrova v. Slovakia, Application no. 7510/04, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 31 May 2007, http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-80696.
 “Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights on Violence against Women,” Council of Europe, CAHVIO, Doc. CAHVIO (2009) 10, 4 May 2009, available at http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/violence/CAHVIO_2009_10%20Case%20law%20of%20the%20European%20Court%20of%20Human%20Rights.pdf.
 “HUDOC Database,” Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/Header/Case-Law/Decisions+and+judgments/HUDOC+database/.
 “ECHR Full Text Search,” Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, http://sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/CaseLaw/Hof.nsf/(Country)/$Searchform?SearchView.
 “Overview 1959-2011,” Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/8031883C-6F90-4A5E-A979-2EC5273B38AC/0/APERCU_19592011_EN.pdf.

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