Date: 25 September 2008
The applicant, K.T., is a Norwegian national who was born in 1971 and lives in Stavanger (Norway). Since his former wife moved to Finland in 2001, the applicant has had care of their two boys, born in 1994 and 1996 respectively.
The case concerned the applicant’s complaint about the child welfare services carrying out a second investigation into his ability to take care of his sons despite a previous investigation showing that his former wife’s allegations were groundless.
He relied on Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life). The Court concluded unanimously that there had been no violation of Article 8, as the second investigation, including the manner of its implementation, had been necessary for the purposes of Article 8 § 2. In particular, it found nothing to indicate that the authorities’ assessment as to the necessity of opening a new investigation had gone beyond their wide margin of appreciation and that the child welfare services had not failed to strike a proper balance between the applicant’s interest in maintaining the confidentiality of certain personal data and the best interests of the children.
The applicant also complained that the Norwegian courts had subsequently refused to examine the merits of his case, in breach of Article 6 § 1 (right of access to a court) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy).
The Court concluded by six votes to one that there had been no violation of Article 6 § 1, noting in particular that, whereas the lower courts had dismissed the applicant’s case summarily without a review of the merits, the Supreme Court had reviewed the merits of the case. The Court further held unanimously that it was not necessary to examine the case under Article 13.
(from the official press-release prepared by the Registry Office of the European Court of Human Rights)
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