The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) determined that the treatment of a female Romanian national during the course of an investigation conducted by Romanian police was inadequate. This judgment was made on 3 December 2024.
The Applicant, M.S.D, was in an intimate relationship with V.C.A which broke down in 2016. Following the relationship breakdown, V.C.A spread intimate images of the Applicant to family members and friends. He also leaked the Applicant’s contact details to escort websites which resulted in the Applicant receiving phone calls seeking sexual services. The Applicant made a complaint to the police regarding these actions.
The police investigation took two years and five months to complete. By the time the investigation was completed, criminal liability against V.C.A had expired, and his actions no longer constituted an offence under criminal law. Additionally, the Applicant alleged that one police officer harassed her. The Applicant stated that the officer threatened that he would either close the investigation or fine the Applicant if she refused to withdraw her complaint against V.C.A. The Applicant also alleged that the police officer intentionally drove his car in front of her frighten her.
The Applicant complained before the Romanian District Court regarding the actions of V.C.A and the length and conduct of the police investigation. The Romanian District Court handed down a sentence of community service to V.C.A, and a requirement that he issue a public apology.
The Applicant appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”), where she relied on Article 8, the right to respect for private and family life, and Article 14 which prohibits discrimination. The Applicant alleged a failure on the part of the authorities to protect her right to respect and family life and that this failure led to discriminatory treatment.
The ECtHR determined that there was no doubt the Romanian police was aware of the limitation period, and that they failed to comply with their obligation to conduct an investigation before the limitation on criminal liability expired. The ECtHR also held that the actions of V.C.A were serious and required criminal sanction. Additionally, the Court determined it was in the public interest, and in the interest of victims, to have a sufficient remedy to ensure a perpetrator like V.C.A can be brought to justice.
The ECtHR acknowledged that Romania had since introduced legislation to protect victims of “revenge pornography”, but that this legislation entered into force too late to protect the Applicant. As such, the Court determined that the legal framework in Romania at the time had been inadequate.
In reviewing the police investigation, the ECtHR stated that Romanian authorities failed to take measures to protect the applicant from potential further abuse and violence from V.C.A. The Court also expressed concern over the lack of impartiality from both the Romanian prosecutor’s office and police. The Court determined that the investigation, as a whole, had been inadequate and ineffective.
The ECtHR found that there was a clear violation of Article 8, right to respect to private and family life, as a result of the inadequate legal framework which failed to protect the Applicant from online violence. The ineffective police investigation also violated Article 8. The Court stated that allegations under Article 14 were sufficiently examined under Article 8.
The ECtHR awarded the Applicant pecuniary damages of seven hundred euros, non-pecuniary damages of seven thousand five hundred euros, and one hundred and twenty-five euros in respect to costs and expenses.
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