25 Mar Failure to carry out an adequate investigation into charges of rape had raised doubts about the system put in place by the Romanian State under its international obligations

The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) in the case of E.B. v. Romania (application no. 49089/10, 19/03/2019).

The case concerned the applicant’s complaint that her accusations of rape had not been properly investigated and that she had been deprived of her procedural rights.

State authorities decided not to initiate criminal proceedings in the case of an applicant, and subsequently dismissed her appeal against such a decision on the grounds that the forensic report did not prove the applicant’s allegations of rape.

The Court found that the authorities had failed to carry out a proper investigation and had overly emphasised the fact that she had not resisted her alleged attacker. The authorities dealing with Ms E.B.’s case had been presented with conflicting accounts and their task had been to determine whether the sex had been consensual or not. Such situations required context-sensitive assessments of the credibility of statements and the examination of the surrounding circumstances. That could involve questioning people known to those involved to establish each side’s trustworthiness, and might in addition require a psychologist’s assessment. However, such steps had not been taken.

Owing to the applicant’s slight intellectual incapacity, her case had required a context-sensitive investigation, but there had not been one. The authorities’ approach had undermined the applicant’s rights as a victim of violence, had deprived domestic law of its purpose of effectively punishing and prosecuting sexual offences, and had raised doubts about the system put in place by the Romanian State under its international obligations.

References from the official website of the European Court of Human Rights