| Applicant name | D.R. AND OTHERS |
| Applicant type | Natural person |
| Number of applicants | 3 |
| Country | Norway |
| Application no. | 63307/17 38105/19 |
| Date | 12/09/2023 |
| Judges | Jovan Ilievski, President, Lorraine Schembri Orland, Diana Sârcu |
| Institution | Court |
| Type | Judgment |
| Outcome Art. 8 | Violation |
| Reason | No necessary (health and rights) |
| Type of privacy | Relational privacy |
| Keywords | Parental custoy; contact rights |
| Facts of the case | The applications concern complaints under Article 8 of the Convention relating to withdrawals of and limitations on the applicants’ right to contact with their children who had been taken into public care. |
| Analysis | The ECtHR quickly establishes that there was an interference with applicants’ family life, that the interference was prescribed by law and that it served the interests of health and rights. As to the question of necessity, the Court lists its previous jurisprudence and finds that in similar cases, it had found a violation. In particular, it points out that a positive duty lies on the competent authorities to take measures to facilitate family reunification as soon as reasonably feasible and that the duty weighs with progressively increasing force as from the commencement of the period of care. Because of the importance of these aspects, the Court applies a stricter test of scrutiny. In this case, the Court in particular points out that contact rights are of thee utmost importance, while except for one child in one application, contact rights were denied. |
| Other Article violation? | – |
| Damage awarded | (a) that, in respect of application no. 38105/19, the respondent State is to pay to the first applicant, within three months, EUR 25,000 (twenty‑five thousand euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement; |
| Documents | Judgment |