CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 9 février 2006

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .sEB86A30B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; page-break-after:avoid } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA241FE93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:18pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s8F2B0B1B { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s9FF10068 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5F48796F { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s5CB9E8AB { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; border-bottom:1pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .sDF790F1E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 83 February 2006 N.N. and T.A. v. Belgium (dec.) - 65097/01 Decision 9.2.2006 [Section I] Article 8 Article 8-1 Respect for private life Refusal to set aside from the debates private love letters submitted before the judge on provisional measures without the agreement of persons concerned: admissible   In connection with the interim measures stage of divorce proceedings, the wife produced a number of love letters between her husband and a third party. They were added to the case file without the permission of either the writer or the addressee, the applicants in the case now before the Court, who applied to have those letters excluded from the interim proceedings. They contended that the letters would only be of relevance at the merits stage, when it came to examining the wife's allegation of fault on the part of the husband. Moreover, the wife had obtained them by breaking open a document safe. The applicants' request to have the letters excluded was dismissed and the interim measures were ordered without reference to the correspondence. The Court of Appeal found that, while general legal rules did not allow private documents to be produced by a third party, case-law and legal theory admitted of an exception in divorce proceedings including, therefore, at the stage of related interim applications. The Court of Appeal further considered that the applicants were not entitled to argue that the wife had unlawfully obtained the documents at issue, because they had not submitted the requisite evidence. The Court of Cassation confirmed that the letters could be used as evidence in proceedings concerning the adoption of interim measures prior to a decree of divorce. Admissible under Article 8.   © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court. Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes