Human rights—Privacy—Family

European Court of Human Rights, Judge Garlicki (President), Judges Bratza, Bonello, Mijovic, Sikuta, Poalelungi and Vucinic, and L Early (Section Registrar), 16 March 2010

The removal of a child from his mother on a mistaken assessment of his injuries has been held to have breached Art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the lack of a domestic remedy for the mother’s claim a breach of Art 13.

The first applicant, AD, was a UK national. The second applicant, OD, was her son, born in 1996. Following action by the local authority on the mistaken assumption OD had suffered non-accidental injuries, the applicants were separated for a period of time.

The applicants brought proceedings in negligence and personal injury, claiming to have suffered damage due to the separation. The judge held that the authority did not owe a duty of care to a parent in the context of care proceedings based on allegations of abuse. The Court of Appeal upheld