Information Note on the Court’s case-law 224
December 2018
S.M. v. Croatia (referral) - 60561/14
Judgment 19.7.2018 [Section I]
Article 4
Positive obligations
Effective investigation
Failure to hold effective investigation into allegation of human trafficking and exploitation of prostitution: case referred to the Grand Chamber
The applicant lodged a criminal complaint against a former policeman, alleging that he had physically and psychologically forced her into prostitution. The policeman was subsequently indicted on charges of forcing another to prostitution, as an aggravated offence of organising prostitution. In 2013 the criminal court acquitted him on the grounds that, although it had been established that he had organised a prostitution ring in which he had recruited the applicant, it had not been established that he had forced her into prostitution. He had only been indicted for the aggravated form of the offence at issue and thus he could not be convicted for the basic form of organising prostitution. The State Attorney’s Office appeal against the decision was dismissed and the applicant’s constitutional complaint was declared inadmissible.
In a judgment of 19 July 2018 (see Information Note 120), a Chamber of the Court held, by six votes to one, that the relevant State authorities had not fulfilled their procedural obligations under Article 4. The Court held that there had been a number of shortcomings in the domestic proceedings. The national authorities had not made a serious attempt to investigate in depth all the relevant circumstances and gather all the available evidence. The national courts had not given adequate attention to relevant elements and had not made any assessment of the possible impact of psychological trauma on the applicant’s ability to consistently and clearly relate the circumstances of her exploitation.
On 3 December 2018 the case was referred to the Grand Chamber at the Government’s request.
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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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