Published on 12 September 2022

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 38799/20 A.R. against Romania lodged on 14 August 2020 communicated on 22 August 2022

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the lack of an effective investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of the applicant A.R. by her father. The complaint lodged in this respect had been rejected with final effect by the Bucharest 1 st District Court on 20 December 2019 for lack of evidence of the alleged abuse (communicated on 3 March 2020).

Relying on Articles 3 and 6 § 1 of the Convention, the applicant A.R. complains of various shortcomings in the investigation and of the authorities’ failure to protect her from the sexual abuse to which she had been subjected and she alleges that she risks being subjected to similar abuses in the future.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Having regard to the positive obligations of States inherent in Article 3 of the Convention, has the manner in which the criminal law mechanisms have been applied in the present case by the domestic authorities been in conformity with the above-mentioned Article?

In particular, did the authorities comply with their positive obligations to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse against the applicant A.R. and, if necessary, to prevent the reoccurrence of such treatment (see C.A.S. and C.S. v. Romania , no. 26692/05, §§ 78 and 81-83, 20 March 2012; and I.C. v. Romania , no. 36934/08, §§ 51-61, 24 May 2016)?

2. In the context of a complaint for failure to protect the applicant A.R. from sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by her father, where there are domestic proceedings pending between the applicant’s father and her mother, is it appropriate and in the best interest of the child that the applicant is represented in the present case before the Court by her mother, one of the parties to those domestic proceedings (see in A and B v. Croatia , no. 7144/15, §§ 2 and 3, 20 June 2019) and does the mother have standing to act on behalf of her daughter (see Raw and Others v. France , no. 10131/11, § 51, 7 March 2013 and Strand Lobben and Others v. Norway [GC], no. 37283/13, § 157, 10 September 2019)?