CEDAW/C/61/D/24/2009
State party adds that some deficiencies in investigation identifiable at the time in
question may have led to a violation of the authors’ rights. In that light, it invites the
authors and their representatives to engage in discussions regarding an amicable
settlement of the case.
4.2 On 21 October 2011, the authors’ representatives confirmed the authors’
willingness to engage in a possible amicable settlement. On 22 April 2012, the
authors’ counsel informed the Committee about discussions with the authorities in
that regard. On 20 June, she added that there had been no developments. 11
Additional comments by the parties
5.1 On 22 August 2012, the authors explained that their application had been
rejected by the European Court of Human Rights on 9 December 2008 as manifestly
ill-founded by a decision of a committee composed of three judges, without giving a
reason for its decision. On 17 September, the authors pro vided a copy of their
application to the Court of 14 March 2007 and of the Court’s decision of
9 December 2008.
5.2 On 4 January 2013, the State party challenged the admissibility of the
communication under article 4 (2) of the Optional Protocol to the C onvention
because the authors had applied, on 14 March 2007, together with one of X’s sons,
to the European Court of Human Rights, which had studied the case and, on
9 December 2008, declared the application inadmissible under articles 34 and 35 of
the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
(European Convention on Human Rights).
5.3 On 25 March 2013, the authors submitted their comments on the State party’s
observations. They note, among other things, that the present commun ication is
focused on the gender-specific impact of domestic violence and the gender
discrimination inherent in the State party’s failure to respond to and to prevent
violence against women and girls. By contrast, in their application to the European
Court of Human Rights they did not refer to gender-based discrimination, but
focused on the personal impact of the abuse suffered by Y and her brother and on
the harm caused to X as a mother unable to protect her children. Such distinction is
reflected in the differences regarding the parties, the facts and the legal complaints.
Before the Court, the authors did not complain about discrimination, sex -based or
otherwise, and accordingly did not invoke a violation of article 14 (prohibition of
discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights, but rather focused
on the personal impact of the abuse suffered by Y and her brother. It was alleged
that X was also a victim of a violation under article 3 of the European Convention
on Human Rights because she was unable to protect her children from such abuses.
Their application focused on a breach of articles 3 (prohibition of torture), 8 (right
to respect for private and family life) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the
European Convention on Human Rights. This stands in contrast to their complaint
to the Committee, which refers to discrimination on grounds of sex (see para. 3.1).
Issues and proceedings before the Committee concerning admissibility
6.1 On 26 July 2013, at its fifty-fifth session, the Committee examined the
admissibility of the communication. It noted, for purposes of article 4 (2) (a) of the
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No further details on the amicable settlement discussions were submitted by the parties.
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