Y.I.'s Story

Y.I. was living with her three young children when she was arrested on suspicion of being involved in drug trafficking. During her arrest, Y.I. told the police about her problems with addiction, including that she had recently been taking opiate drugs and allowing others to take drugs in her home. A few days later, the authorities removed Y.I.’s children from her care stating that she had been neglecting her parental responsibilities. She visited her children regularly and wanted to gain custody of them again, and sought treatment for her addiction as well as making repairs to her home. However, the authorities applied to the court to remove Y.I.’s parental authority for her three children and this was granted because the Russian Family Code allowed parental authority to be removed from parents who ‘suffer from chronic alcohol or drug abuse’.

Y.I. challenged this decision and the Russian Family Code, but her appeals were dismissed by domestic courts. She brought her case to the European Court of Human Rights, relying on her right to respect for private and family life, protected by Article 8 of the Human Rights Act. Y.I. argued that the courts had failed to consider the fact that she had been undergoing rehabilitation treatment, had not given enough evidence to justify the family’s forced separation, and had not considered less restrictive measures. The ECtHR explained that efforts should be made to maintain relationships between children and parents, and although it acknowledged that the initial removal of the children and their placement in care was justified, depriving Y.I. of parental authority of her three children violated her right to family life.

Read more about this case: Y.I. v Russia, 2020.