Interim Resolution ResDH (2001)151 concerning the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 13 July 2000 (Grand Chamber) in the case of Scozzari and Giunta against Italy

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 3 October 2001 at the 764th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”) and having regard to the Rules concerning the application of this Article,

Having regard to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 13 July 2000 in the Scozzari and Giunta case, in which the Court notably found two violations of Article 8 of the Convention on account, first, of the delays in organising contact visits and the limited number of such visits between the first applicant and her children, after they had been taken into public care and, secondly, of the placement, uninterrupted to date, of the children in the community Il Fortet o in the circumstances described in paragraphs 201 to 216 of the judgment, namely :

- the failure of the authorities to provide full and pertinent explanations on the reasons justifying the sending of the children in this community in spite of the elements which made understandable, from an objective standpoint, the first applicant’s concerns, namely the fact that certain “ Forteto ” leaders with serious previous convictions for ill-treatment and sexual abuse of handicapped people placed in the community could still play an active role in bringing up the children ;

- the fact that the implementation of the Youth Court’s decisions had been deflected from their intended purpose of allowing visits between the mother and the children to take place as a result of the attitude of the social services and of some of the leaders of Il Forteto - including one of the convicted men - who had delayed or hindered the implementation of such decisions and exercised a mounting influence on the children aimed at distancing them from their mother;

- the doubt about who really has effective care of the children ;

- the failure of the relevant authorities, in particular the judiciary, to increase their level of supervision;

- the absence of any time limit on the care order;

Having furthermore regard to Interim Resolution ResDH (2001)65 adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 29 May 2001, in which the Committee, considering the urgency of the situation, encouraged the Italian and Belgian authorities to implement without delay a proposal submitted by the latter regarding an alternative placement of the children in Belgium where the mother currently lives;

Noting with interest, in this respect, that the Belgian authorities have supplemented their earlier proposal so as to organise, after adequate preparation in Italy, contacts between Ms Scozzari and her children in Belgium under the supervision and with the assistance of the competent Belgian authorities;

Having carefully examined the information so far provided by the Italian authorities on the measures taken, since September 2000, to implement the Court’s judgment and noting that, after the three preliminary meetings between the mother and her children which took place in March-April 2001, the Florence Youth Court in July 2001 notably authorised further contacts, on a monthly basis, in the presence of persons nominated by the social services from among those never previously involved in the procedure, and confirmed the placement of the children into public care in the Forteto community for an additional period of three years, which could be shortened under specific conditions;

Regretting that, more than one year after the European Court’s judgment, the latter has still not been fully executed; in fact, several problems at the basis of the Court’s finding of a violation in respect of the placement in the Forteto community have not been remedied;

Noting that the Italian authorities, on account of the above-mentioned shortcomings, have undertaken to give full effect to the Court’s judgment without delay;

Invites the Italian authorities rapidly to take concrete and effective measures in order to prevent that the children be irreversibly separated from their mother and to ensure that their placement respect the superior interests of the children and the mother’s rights, as defined by the Court in its judgment;

Encourages the Italian authorities in particular to reinforce their contacts with the Belgian authorities with a view to organising meetings very quickly between mother and children at a neutral location, pursuant to the decision of the Florence Youth Court,

Decides to resume consideration of this case, if need be, at each of its meetings.