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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday published a judgement in the Nikolyan v. Armenia case, finding unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6.1 (right of access to court) of the European Convention on Human Rights and a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life).

The case concerned applicant Gurgen Nikolyan, an Armenian national born in 1939 who lodged a divorce and eviction claim before the courts against his wife in 2012, submitting that their conflictual relationship made co-habitation unbearable.

However, the domestic courts never examined his claim as he was declared legally incapable in 2013, following proceedings brought by his wife and son, who was living with his family in the same flat.

The European court found that the applicant could neither pursue his divorce and eviction claim against his wife nor seek restoration of his legal capacity in court because Armenian law imposed a blanket ban on direct access to the courts for those declared incapable.

The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the authorities appointed the applicant’s son as his legal guardian, despite their having a conflictual relationship.

Moreover, the judgment depriving the applicant of his legal capacity relied on just one, out-dated psychiatric report, without analyzing in any detail the degree of his mental disorder or taking into account that he had no history of such illness.

Therefore, the court ordered Armenia to pay Nikolyan €7,800 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage.