European Court of Human Rights

Resolution CM/ResDH(2010)101¹

Execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

Covezzi and Morselli against Italy

(Application No. 52763/99, judgment of 9 May 2003, final on 24 September 2003)

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”);

Having regard to the judgment transmitted by the Court to the Committee once it had become final;

Recalling that the violation of the Convention found by the Court in this case concerns a breach of the applicants’ right to respect for their family life due to the failure to involve them adequately in the decision making process concerning their parental rights (violation of article 8) (see details in Appendix);

Having invited the government of the respondent state to inform the Committee of the measures taken to comply with its obligation under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to abide by the judgment;

Having examined the information provided by the government in accordance with the Committee’s Rules for the application of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention;

Having satisfied itself that, within the time-limit set, the respondent state paid the applicants, the just satisfaction provided in the judgment (see details in Appendix),

Recalling that a finding of violations by the Court requires, over and above the payment of just satisfaction awarded by the Court in its judgments, the adoption by the respondent state, where appropriate:

- of individual measures to put an end to the violations and erase their consequences so as to achieve as far as possible restitutio in integrum; and

- of general measures preventing similar violations;

DECLARES, having examined the measures taken by the respondent state (see Appendix), that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention in this case and

DECIDES to close the examination of this case.

Appendix to Resolution CM/ResDH(2010)101

Information about the measures to comply with the judgment in the case of

Covezzi and Morselli against Italy

Introductory case summary

The case concerns a violation of the applicants’ right to respect for their family life due to the failure to involve them adequately in the decision-making process concerning their parental rights. In 1998 the Youth Court, having ordered the removal of the applicants’ children (then aged 11, 9, 7 and 4), waited more than four months before hearing the applicants and more than twenty months before withdrawing their parental rights in 2000. During these excessively long periods, the tribunal’s initial emergency care order was extended without re-examination on the merits and the applicants had no effective remedy to challenge it (violation of Article 8).

I. Payment of just satisfaction and individual measures

a) Details of just satisfaction

b) Individual measures

The adoption of individual measures does not appear necessary in this case: the European Court found no breach of the Convention as regards the emergency care order made in respect of the applicants’ children or the way in which it had been implemented, the failure to hear the applicants before its implementation, the placement of the children or the lengthy suspension of contacts between the children and the applicants, who had been convicted of sexually abusing the children.

II. General measures

Legislative measures

After the facts at the origin of this case, a new law (No. 149/01, which entered into force on 27/04/2001) modified the provisions concerning adoption and placement of minors in public care. This law provides for greater involvement of parents at the beginning of emergency order proceedings, in particular by allowing them to participate, assisted by a lawyer, in enquiries ordered by the tribunal, to file their applications and to request the judge’s authorisation to access the file. The law confirms the tribunal’s obligation to decide within 30 days whether to confirm, modify or revoke emergency care orders. Furthermore, the suspension of the proceedings should be motivated and cannot exceed one year.

Awareness activities

In order to raise Youth Court judges’ awareness of the Convention’s requirements as interpreted in the European Court’s case-law on family matters, the judgment of the European Court was communicated to all youth courts in December 2003, and published in the Official Bulletin of the Ministry of Justice, No. 1 of 15/01/2004.

Furthermore, the Supreme Judicial Board (CSM) had organised seminars concerning the case-law of the European Court and the execution of its judgments.

III. Conclusions of the respondent state

The government considers that no individual measure was required in these cases that the general measures adopted will prevent similar violations and that Italy has thus complied with its obligations under Article 46 paragraph 1, of the Convention.