Workplace abuse and ineffective research
JUDGMENT
Hovhannisyan v. Armenia 19.7.2018 (no. 18419/13)
SUMMARY
Abuse at work. Ineffective research. The applicant complained of her abuse by her colleagues and about the ineffective investigation of her claims by the authorities. Infringement of Article 2 with regard to research.
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicant, Aida Hovhannisyan, is an Armenian national who was born in 1958 and lives in
Yerevan. The case concerned her allegation that she had been assaulted at work by her superiors
during an argument over her appraisal report.
In January 2012 Ms Hovhannisyan, an inspector for the Ministry of Environmental Protection,
reported to the police that her head of division and his deputy had grabbed her hands and insulted
her when she had refused to return her appraisal report before adding her objections to it. The
police investigator ordered a medical examination, which confirmed that she had bruises on her
arms. Her superiors and other colleagues were also questioned, but they denied her version of the
incident. The investigator therefore refused to institute criminal proceedings.
Ms Hovhannisyan contested this decision by lodging a complaint with the prosecutor. However, no
investigation was ever launched because of a lack of evidence. She then complained to the courts,
arguing in particular that the prosecutor had ignored the medical examination. The courts, finding
the prosecutor’s decision lawful, dismissed her complaint in May 2012 and her further appeals.
Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on
Human Rights, Ms Hovhannisyan alleged that her superiors had deliberately ill-treated and
humiliated her and that the authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation into her
allegations.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
Violation of Article 3 (investigation)
No violation of Article 3 (ill-treatment)
Just satisfaction: 3,000 euros (EUR) (non-pecuniary damage)(echrcaselaw.com editing).
