B.P. v the United Kingdom - 29619/08 [2010] ECHR 1685 (5 October 2010)

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The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 5 October 2010 as a Chamber composed of:

Lech Garlicki, President,
Nicolas Bratza,
Ljiljana Mijović,
David Thór Björgvinsson,
Ján Šikuta,
Ledi Bianku,
Vincent Anthony de Gaetano, judges,
and Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,

The application was lodged by B.P., a British national who was born in 1956 and lives in Berkshire. The President of the Chamber has granted the applicant's request that his identity should not be disclosed to the public (Rule 47 § 3 of the Rules of Court). He was represented before the Court by G. Maddocks of Gabb & Co, a lawyer practising in London, and the Aire Centre. The United Kingdom Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr M. Kuzmicki.

The applicant was denied contact with his daughter for five years following unfounded allegations of sexual abuse by his former partner. He attempted to claim damages in negligence from the local authority but the domestic courts followed the House of Lords' judgment in JD v East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust and Others [2005] 2 AC 373 and found that the local authority did not owe the applicant a duty of care.

The applicant complained under Article 8 of the Convention that his right to respect for his private and family life was violated. The applicant also complained under Article 6 that the proceedings were unreasonably long at both the judicial and administrative stages. Finally, he complained under Article 13 that he did not receive a remedy in the domestic courts as the relevant events took place before the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force.

On 18 August 2010 and 13 September 2010 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against the United Kingdom in respect of the facts giving rise to this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay him 30,000 euros to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses. The sum will be converted into British pounds at the rate applicable on the date of payment and will be free of any taxes that may be applicable It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on it, from expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention).

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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> B.P. v the United Kingdom - 29619/08 [2010] ECHR 1685 (5 October 2010) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2010/1685.html Cite as: [2010] ECHR 1685