| Applicant name | DIAKITÈ |
| Applicant type | Natural person |
| Number of applicants | 1 |
| Country | Italy |
| Application no. | 44646/17 |
| Date | 14/09/2023 |
| Judges | Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström, President, Lado Chanturia, Mattias Guyomar, judges, |
| Institution | Court |
| Type | Judgment |
| Outcome Art. 8 | Violation |
| Reason | Positive obligation |
| Type of privacy | Private life; procedural privacy |
| Keywords | Appointment of a legal guardian. |
| Facts of the case | Relying on Article 8 of the Convention, the applicant complained of a breach of his right to respect for his private life on the grounds of the competent authorities’ failure to recognise his status of unaccompanied minor and their lack of a prompt appointment of a legal guardian. |
| Analysis | At his arrival, the applicant submitted to the authorities a birth certificate showing his minor age and he did not benefit from the minimum procedural guarantees. In this context, the Court also highlights that the principle of presumption of minor age is an inherent element of the protection of the right to respect for private life of a foreign unaccompanied individual declaring to be a minor. Thus, the Court concludes that the authorities did not act with reasonable diligence and therefore did not comply with their positive obligation to ensure the applicant’s right to respect for his private life in the present case. There has accordingly been a violation of Article 8 of the Convention. |
| Other Article violation? | No violation Article 3, 5 and 13 ECHR or ARticle 2 Protocol 1 |
| Damage awarded | (i) EUR 5,000 (five thousand euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage; (ii) EUR 4,000 (four thousand euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant, in respect of costs and expenses; |
| Documents | Judgment |