FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 21064/23
Yvonne Renate VAN DIJK
against the Netherlands
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 12 March 2026 as a Committee composed of:
Anne Louise Bormann, President,
Sebastian Răduleţu,
András Jakab, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application against the Kingdom of the Netherlands lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 17 May 2023,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDUREThe applicant’s details are set out in the appended table.
The applicant was represented by Mr M. Erkens, a lawyer practising in The Hague.
The applicant’s complaint under Article 8 of the Convention concerning the decision to terminate her parental authority (ouderlijke macht) over her son were communicated to the Dutch Government (“the Government”).
The Court received a declaratory agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) governed by Dutch law, signed by the parties, under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against the Netherlands in respect of the facts giving rise to this application, subject to the following undertakings by the Government:
An acknowledgement by the Government that the treatment of the applicant and her son – including the overly restrictive contact opportunities after he had been placed in foster care, the weight that was attached in the decision-making process to the applicant’s strained relationship with the care-providers, and the insufficient efforts to reunite the applicant and her son while he was in foster‑care – was not in line with the case-law of the Court. The Government acknowledged the suffering caused by this and supported the apologies already offered to the applicant by the relevant care-providers.To pay her the amount detailed in the appended table. This amount will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay this amount within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, from the 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 LAWThe 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 the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application.
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 2 April 2026.
Viktoriya Maradudina Anne Louise Bormann
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
Application raising complaints under Article 8 of the Convention
(decision to terminate parental authority)
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration
Amount awarded for non-pecuniary damage
(in euros)[1]
21064/23
17/05/2023
Yvonne Renate VAN DIJK
1968
Erkens Marco
The Hague
28/01/2026
16/01/2026
20,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.