Marital Murder Case: Bulgaria Violated Right to Life

23-03-2022

Myrthe Niemeijer

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence 

On March 22, the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’ or ‘the Court’) delivered its Chamber judgement in the case of Y and Others v. Bulgaria. The Court found that by failing to prevent the murder of a Bulgarian woman, Ms V, by her husband, Bulgaria had violated the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’). However, the Court rejected the claim that this was part of a broader complacency towards violence against women in the country. 

Ms V and her husband had been de facto separated since 2014, but fearing for her life, Ms V had called the national emergency number and filed many written complaints regarding her husband in the years before her killing in 2017. She had stated that he was violent, threatening and in possession of a handgun. A few hours before she was killed, she had again lodged a complaint with the district prosecutor’s office, conveying she ‘feared for her life’. 

However, none of the complaints were followed by an effective preventive response. 

Therefore, the applicants - mother and daughters of the deceased - brought a claim under Article 2 (right to life) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) ECHR. The ECtHR concluded that the imminent risk of harm to Ms V was neglected, as her numerous complaints against her husband did not receive an effective response or were not effectively enforced. [1] Had the authorities undertaken adequate steps to avert the risk to Ms V’s life, such as seizing the handgun her husband illegally possessed and placing her under police protection, the murder of Ms V could have been prevented. As such, the Court found a violation of Article 2. However, lacking evidence of systemic patterns of failure to take effective measures regarding violence against women, the Court rejected the claim under Article 14 that this had been due to Bulgarian authorities’ ‘general complacency’ towards domestic violence against women.

Notes:

[1] For example, even though the Bulgarian court had granted Ms V a restraining order against her husband, no steps were undertaken to ensure compliance and the police was not informed. 

Sources and further reading: 

European Court of Human Rights. (March 22, 2022). Case of Y and Others v. Bulgaria, (App no. 9077/18). https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22languageisocode%22:[%22ENG%22],%22documentcollectionid2%22:[%22JUDGMENTS%22],%22itemid%22:[%22001-216360%22]} 

European Court of Human Rights. (March 22, 2022). Press Release - Judgment Y and Others v. Bulgaria - failure to protect victim of marital murder. https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press#{%22itemid%22:[%22003-7291310-9936944%22]}