Information Note on the Court’s case-law 205

March 2017

Koch v. Poland (dec.) - 15005/11

Decision 7.3.2017 [Section IV]

Article 35

Article 35-3-a

Abuse of the right of application

Convention complaint based on evidence obtained unlawfully by use of force: inadmissible

Facts – In an attempt to prove that he was not the father of their youngest daughter, the applicant removed hair samples from both his former wife and the daughter. He was later convicted of an attack on his former wife’s physical integrity after it was established that he had used force to pull out the hair. In the Convention proceedings, he complained under Articles 6 and 8 of the Convention that he had not been able to bring proceedings before the domestic courts to disavow his paternity.

Law – Article 35 § 3 (a): In principle any conduct on the part of an applicant that is manifestly contrary to the purpose of the right of individual application as provided for in the Convention and which impedes the proper functioning of the Court or the proper conduct of the proceedings before it can be considered an abuse of the right of application.

It was established in the domestic criminal proceedings that the applicant had obtained the DNA samples by force, without consent, and he had been convicted of an attack on his former wife’s physical integrity as a result. The way in which the applicant had attempted to vindicate his Article 8 rights at the domestic level had thus blatantly violated the rights and values protected by the Convention. Thus, in the exceptional circumstances of the instant case, by invoking Article 8 before the Court on the basis of evidence obtained in violation of other people’s Conven tion rights, the applicant had abused his right of individual petition.

Conclusion : inadmissible (abuse of the right of petition).

© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

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