A v. Croatia

In A v Croatia, the Court reaffirmed that a State failure to provide women with protection against domestic violence can violate Article 8 of the Convention, the right to respect for private and family life. In this case, the State failure was not systemic; rather, the violation was established on the basis that the authorities failed to implement measures ordered by a domestic court, thus failing to provide the applicant with protection against further violence. A and her daughter had been subjected to violence at the hands of her husband from 2003 to 2006, followed by a number of attempts by A to file complaints against her husband between 2004 and 2009. The protective measures ordered were simply not enforced and the husband's jail sentences were not served.