Judgment concerning Croatia
In the case of Svrtan v. Croatia the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to life.
The case concerned the death of a Croatian couple’s 12-year-old son in a shooting incident. The man responsible, S.K., had a history of alcohol abuse, violent behaviour and suspected unlawful possession of firearms.
The Court concluded that the authorities had not done everything within their power to safeguard public safety and, ultimately, the life of the applicants’ son. The police had searched S.K.’s house several weeks before the tragic incident after the local police stopped him carrying a gas pistol. They had however only searched the house for half an hour, failing to find and confiscate the automatic rifle used in the subsequent shooting. Indeed, the authorities had not questioned S.K., his family members or neighbours, or taken any other measures, despite the police having been ordered just a few days after the search to make further enquiries, and specifically having been told that S.K. had had unlicensed weapons in his attic.