Europe's highest human rights court holds that Russia violated rights of man with mental health disabilities

27 March 2008, Budapest (Hungary), St. Petersburg (Russia) and Strasbourg (France). European Court of Human Rights holds Russia in violation of numerous human rights of a young man with mental health disabilities. The Mental Disability Advocacy Center, responsible for bringing the case before the court, welcomes the judgement and urges Russia to act promptly upon it.

The applicant in the case, Mr Shtukaturov, is a young man still in his 20s. In 2004 he was deprived of legal capacity following a request by his mother. He had not been informed about the proceedings and was therefore unable to participate in them and the decision was made by the court in ten minutes with Mr Shtukaturov remaining unseen and unheard. He was placed without his knowledge under the guardianship of his mother and as a result was deprived of his capacity to act independently, or at all, in almost all areas of life: he was for instance no longer able to sell or buy any property on his own, to work, to travel, to choose his place of residence, to join associations, to marry, etc. He only became aware of this decision by accident one year later in November 2005 and immediately contacted Dmitri Bartenev, an attorney and MDAC's lawyer in Russia, who agreed to represent him.

A couple of days later he was detained in a psychiatric hospital simply upon the request of his mother. His lawyer tried to visit him on several occasions but he was refused access by the hospital administration, on the basis that, as Mr Shtukaturov was under guardianship, he could not have his own lawyer. Under Russian law, Mr Shtukaturov was classed as a "voluntary" patient because his guardian (his mother) had consented to his admission to hospital. Mr Shtukaturov on several occasions asked to leave the hospital. His requests were refused and his detention continued.

Mr Shtukaturov attempted to appeal his guardianship status and the lack of access to his attorney through the Russian courts. He failed in both attempts on the grounds that as he was under guardianship he had no legal standing to make such appeals. He therefore filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights which in March 2006 ordered the Russian Government to allow the lawyer, Mr. Bartenev, access to him. The Russian authorities simply ignored the order with the result that Mr Shtukaturov remained under detention in the institution for seven months and was strictly prohibited in communicating with the outside world. Only upon his release was he able to pursue further the claim before the European Court.

In its judgment today the European Court of Human Rights found several violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. These include the following.

· deprivation of legal capacity constitutes a "very serious" interference of a person's private life, it is applied indefinitely, and cannot be challenged by the person under guardianship (Article 8 of the Convention)
· a mental illness cannot be the sole reason to justify stripping someone of legal capacity and Russian law is disproportionate in allowing this to happen without making provision for a tailor-made response (Article 8 of the Convention)
· the guardianship proceedings were unfair because they wholly excluded Mr Shtukaturov (Article 6 of the Convention)
· deprivation of legal capacity is not a ground to deprive a person of their liberty (Article 5(1) of the Convention)
· every person who is detained - including those who have been deprived of their legal capacity - should have the right to pursue independently a legal review to challenge their detention (Article 5(4) of the Convention)
· the Russian Government failed to comply with an "interim measure" of the European Court ordering it to allow Mr Shtukaturov's lawyer to have access to him (Article 34 of the Convention)

Welcoming the judgment, MDAC's Executive Director, Oliver Lewis, said: "The judgment, which documents how Mr Shtukaturov was arbitrarily stripped of his legal capacity without his knowledge, consequently detained simply on the request of his mother, and then denied any contact with his own lawyer or the judicial system, makes chilling reading. This system of absolute exclusion and discrimination of Mr Shtukaturov which is typical for many people with disabilities in Russia is contrary to international human rights law. We therefore call on the Russian Government to respond to this judgement by undertaking a comprehensive review of all relevant laws, services and their implementation."

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- notes for editors -

For more information on this case call Dmitri Bartenev, attorney and MDAC Legal Monitor + 7 905 222 8915. Click here to read the judgment.

The Mental Disability Advocacy Center advances the human rights of children and adults with actual or perceived intellectual or psycho-social disabilities. Focusing on Europe and Central Asia, we use a combination of law and advocacy to promote equality and social integration. MDAC has participatory status with the Council of Europe. MDAC's vision is for a world that values emotional, mental and learning differences, and where people respect each other's autonomy and dignity.

Mental Disability Advocacy Center
Hercegprímás u. 11., 1051 Budapest, Hungary
Tel: + 36 1 413 27 30, fax: +36 1 4 13 27 39
Email: mdac@mdac.org , web: www.mdac.org

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