Avenue de l'Europe
Zaunegger v. Germany 
| 2009
It is a great satisfaction for me that this great suffering and the powerlessness that I have felt for years, now lie behind me.
Horst Zaunegger, reported by the German Press Agency, quoted by Süddeutsche Zeitung
Horst Zaunegger had a daughter. He was not married to the mother. When the couple separated, Mr Zaunegger was refused joint custody of their child. This was because, as the couple had not been married, joint custody could only be granted if the mother agreed to it, or if the child’s well-being was threatened.
Mr Zaunegger applied to the Strasbourg court, claiming that the law amounted to unjustified discrimination and breached his right to family life.
The court noted that, when a married couple separated in Germany, the father did not require the mother’s permission to be awarded joint custody of children. This meant that the law unfairly discriminated against fathers of children born out of marriage, compared to fathers of children born within marriage – in breach of Mr Zaunegger’s basic rights.
In 2013 the law was changed so that, if a parent of a child born out of marriage applies for joint custody, this will be granted as long as this is not against the child’s best interests.
When she was four years old, Tabitha Mitunga was detained by the Belgian authorities for almost two months – without family, friends, or anybody assigned to look after her. She suffered psychological damage and the Strasbourg court ruled that her rights had been violated. Her case highlighted the need for better protections for unaccompanied children in Belgium and led to substantial reforms.
For decades, Cypriot law criminalised homosexual relationships between men. Alecos Modinos suffered from strain, apprehension and fear of prosecution due to his relationship with another man. The European court ruled that the criminalisation of Alecos’ sexuality violated his basic rights to a private life. In 1998, Cyprus decriminalised homosexual relationships.
In February 1992, 25,671 people in Slovenia were automatically stripped of their right to live there. Many people – including Ana Mezga - had their papers taken away, were evicted from their homes, could not work, lost personal possessions or had their families broken apart. The law was changed and a compensation scheme set up after a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights.
With the help of an international agency, Jeanne Wagner adopted a child from an orphanage in Peru. However, after they travelled back to Europe, the Luxembourg courts refused to recognise the full adoption because Jeanne was not married. The European court ruled that this was unfair and violated the right to family life. The adoption was recognised and the ban on single-parent adoption was ended.
M.D. lost custody of her two children after the authorities found that her former partner had been beating them and she had not protected them. M.D. then ended her relationship with the abusive partner and tried to get her children back. However, under Maltese law she had lost custody of the children forever, and she had no way to challenge this in the national courts.
Tiborné Daróczy was 71 years old when the government made her change the name - even though she she had used it for fifty years. Mrs Daróczy saw her name as a strong link to her late husband. She did not want to be forced to change it. The European court ruled in her favour and the Hungarian authorities then allowed Mrs Daróczy to keep her old name.
Under Austrian law, custody of a child born out of marriage was automatically given to the mother, with few exceptions. Meanwhile, custody of children born within marriage was decided according to the child’s best interests. At the Strasbourg court, Mr Sporer successfully argued that this was unfair – leading to a change in Austrian law.
Verica Šobota-Gajić was given custody of her children after her relationship ended. However, her former husband took their son away. Due to the authorities’ inaction, Ms Šobota-Gajić only regained custody 6 years later. The case led to reforms to make sure the right people have custody of a child.
Nessa Williams-Johnston could not be legally recognised as her father’s daughter, because her father had previously been married to someone other than Nessa’s mother. After the Strasbourg court ruled in the family’s favour, new legislation was passed to give children in Nessa’s position proper legal status.
When María Iglesias Gil had a son by her ex-husband, she was given custody of the child. However, her ex-husband took the child away to the United States. When Mrs Iglesias Gil went to the Spanish courts, they refused to issue an international arrest warrant and closed the case. The Strasbourg court ruled that this decision had breached Ms Iglesias Gil’s right to family life.
Snežana Boucke had a baby daughter out of marriage. The father was ordered to pay child support. The authorities failed to make sure the order was enforced, and the payments were not made for 13 years. The Strasbourg court ruled that this breached Ms Boucke’s right to have court rulings properly enforced. The case led to significant reforms to improve the enforcement of court orders.
A child was born outside of marriage. The mother asked the courts to establish who the father was. Due to legal delays and the father’s refusals to have a DNA test, the case lasted over 5 years. The Strasbourg court ruled that children’s rights were not properly protected. Laws were changed to help prevent the problem from happening again.
Mihai Ciubotaru is a writer and a professor. He wanted to have his ethnicity registered as Romanian. The authorities refused his request, despite his clear links with the Romanian ethnic group. The Strasbourg court ruled in Mr Ciubotaru’s favour, and later reforms gave people more control over their registered ethnicity.
Stefano Bianchi was given custody of his son when he separated from his wife. However, his wife took the child abroad and refused to return. When Mr Bianchi complained to the Swiss authorities, they failed to take action to reunite father and son. The Strasbourg court ruled that this breached Mr Bianchi’s right to family life. The relevant procedures were subsequently reformed.
Germany
Belgium
Cyprus
Slovenia
Luxembourg
Malta
Hungary
Austria
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ireland
Spain
Montenegro
Croatia
Republic of Moldova
Switzerland