Czechia
Background
Emílie Wallová and Jaroslav Walla had five children. The authorities took the children away and placed them in children’s homes, saying that the parents did not have enough money to look after them properly.
Wallová and Walla v. Czechia 
| 2006
Reforms after children were taken away from their parents because they were poor
The court considers that the reasons given by the national authorities and courts . . . were not sufficient to justify this serious interference with the applicants' family life.
Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, 26 October 2006 - © Photo: Aktualne.cz
Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights
The European court said that separating a family is a drastic measure that should only be applied in the most serious of cases. The Czech authorities should have used other measures, such as giving the parents advice on how to improve their situation. However, no serious efforts were made to help them.
Taking the children away in such circumstances had breached Emílie and Jaroslav’s right to family life.
Follow-up
New legislation in the Czech Republic brought in a ban on putting children in institutional care just because of the financial situation of their parents.
Legal changes also introduced new methods for social workers and required courts to always consider less severe alternatives to institutional care.
National strategies were adopted to help better support children at risk and improve care for those most vulnerable.
Themes:
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