EIT: lasten oikeuksia ei turvattu, kun sosiaaliviranomaiset olivat hyväksyneet alaikäisten puolesta merenrantahuvilan vaihdon alempiarvoiseen asuntoon

EIT katsoi tuoreessa ratkaisussaan, että Kroatian sosiaaliviranomaisten olisi tullut huolellisemmin perrehtyä sekä omaisuuden vaihtokauppaan että perheen tilanteeseen ennen kuin se antoi suostumuksen alaikäisten lasten omaisuuden vaihtamiseen alempiarvoiseen omaisuuteen. Omaisuuden suojaa oli loukattu, korvauspuoli ei vielä ollut valmis ratkaistavaksi.

EIT:n lehdistötiedotteesta:

In a Chamber judgment in the case of S.L. and J.L. v. Croatia (application no. 13712/11) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:

a violation of Article 1 (protection of property) of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case concerned a deal to swap a seaside villa for a less valuable flat. The Social Welfare Centre had to give its consent to the deal as the owners of the villa, S.L. and J.L., were minors. The Social Welfare Centre agreed to the proposed swap without rigorously examining the particular circumstances of the case or the family. The lawyer acting on behalf of the children’s parents also happened to be the son-in-law of the original owner of the flat. The subsequent efforts by the girls and J.L.’s father – both girls’ legal guardian – to challenge the legality of the deal in court was rejected as they had not challenged the decision during the administrative proceedings even though at the time the girls had been minors, J.L.’s father had been in detention, the mother was a drugaddict with financial difficulties, and their lawyer had a conflict of interests.

The Court found that the domestic authorities failed to take the necessary measures to safeguard the proprietary interests of the children in the real estate swap agreement or to give them a reasonable opportunity to effectively challenge the agreement.

Koko lehdistötiedote, missä myös linkki koko tuomioon, löytyy täältä: S.L. and J.L. v. Croatia

EIT:n lapsen oikeuksia koskeva faktalehti löytyy täältä: Factsheet: Children’s Rights