04 December 2003

:: NEWS ::

BHC Press Release on M.C. v Bulgaria

2002 news

Text of judgment:
M.C. v Bulgaria

Additional links:
Interights
Animus Foundation

On December 4, 2003 the European Court of Human Rights (First Section) in Strasbourg delivered its judgment in the case of M.C. v Bulgaria.

The Court unanimously held that there has been a violation of Bulgaria's positive obligations under both Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Court considered that no separate issue arises under Article 13 of the Convention.
Mr Yonko Grozev, a lawyer from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, represented the Applicant. In addition, third-party comments were submitted from Interights, a non-governmental organization based in London.

The case of M.C. concerns the termination by Bulgarian state authorities of criminal proceedings regarding allegations of rape of the Applicant on the ground of there being insufficient evidence of her having been compelled to have sex against her will. In 1995 two men allegedly raped the Applicant, then aged 14 years and 10 months. Following investigations that continued three years, the District Prosecutor issued a decree terminating the criminal proceedings.

The District Prosecutor found that it had not been established beyond reasonable doubt that there had been use of force or threats or that sexual intercourse had taken place without the Applicant's consent and despite her resistance.

Subsequently, the Regional Prosecutor's Office and then the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office dismissed the Applicant's appeals against this decree.

Under Bulgarian law (Article 152 § 1 of the Criminal Code) the offence of rape requires proof of sexual intercourse through the use of force or threats. In the case of M.C. this was not proved due to lack of evidence of the Applicant having physically resisted or struggled with the two alleged perpetrators and due to her prior acquaintance with them.
The applicant complained, invoking Articles 3, 8 and 13 of the Convention, that Bulgarian law and practice did not provide effective protection against rape and sexual abuse as only cases where the victim had resisted actively were prosecuted, that the authorities had not investigated the events of 1995 effectively, and that the above amounted to a violation of the State's positive obligations to protect the individual's physical integrity and private life and to provide effective remedies in this respect.

Tomorrow, December 5, 2003, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee will hold a press conference together with the Animus Foundation on the issue of adequate protection of women victims of sexual violence in Bulgaria.

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