ECHR rules in favour of Norway in Michálková case

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a complaint made by Czech woman Eva Michálková against its January ruling, which found that Norway had not broken the right to family life when the country’s child welfare service decided to take both of her sons and place them into foster care. The verdict was issued on Monday and has since come into force, Czech Justice Ministry spokesman Vladimír Řepka told the Czech News Agency.

Ms Michálková’s children were taken away from her 10 years ago, after suspicions of maltreatment. Norwegian agencies then removed the woman’s rights to her children, but kept them for their father.

According to the ECHR, the Norwegian authorities did not break Ms Michálková’s right to a family life and sufficiently justified their decision.