issued by the Registrar of the Court  
no. 962  
14.12.2010  
Legal uncertainty prevented mother from giving birth at home  
In today’s Chamber judgment in the case Ternovszky v. Hungary (application  
no. 67545/09), which is not final1, the European Court of Human Rights held, by a  
majority, that there had been:  
A violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the  
European Convention on Human Rights  
Principal facts  
The applicant, Anna Ternovszky, is a Hungarian national who was born in 1979 and lives  
in Budapest. She was pregnant when she lodged her application with the Court.  
She intended to give birth at her home, rather than in a hospital or a birth home, but  
alleged she had not been able to do so because health professionals were effectively  
dissuaded by law2 from assisting her as they risked being convicted. It appeared that at  
least one such prosecution had taken place in recent years.  
Complaints, procedure and composition of the Court  
Relying, in particular, on Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), the  
applicant alleged that the fact that she had not been able to benefit from adequate  
professional assistance for a home birth in view of the relevant Hungarian legislation –  
and as opposed to those wishing to give birth in a health institution – had amounted to  
discrimination in the enjoyment of her right to respect for her private life.  
The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 15 December  
2009.  
Judgment was given by a Chamber of seven, composed as follows:  
Françoise Tulkens (Belgium), President,  
Danutė Jočienė (Lithuania),  
Dragoljub Popović (Serbia),  
András Sajó (Hungary),  
Nona Tsotsoria (Georgia),  
Kristina Pardalos (San Marino),  
Guido Raimondi (Italy), Judges,  
1 Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, this Chamber judgment is not final. During the three-month  
period following its delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the  
Court. If such a request is made, a panel of five judges considers whether the case deserves further  
examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a final judgment. If the referral  
request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day.  
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for  
supervision of its execution. Further information about the execution process can be found here:  
www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution  
2
section 101(2) of Government Decree no. 218/1999  
   
and also Stanley Naismith, Section Registrar.  
Decision of the Court  
The Court observed that “private life” incorporated aspects of an individual’s physical  
and social identity including the right to respect for both the decisions to become and not  
to become a parent, hence the right of choosing the circumstances of becoming a  
parent. Although Ms Ternovszky had not been prevented as such from giving birth at  
home, there had been an interference with the exercise of the right to respect for her  
private life given that legislation arguably dissuaded health professionals from providing  
the requisite assistance.  
The relevant legislation might reasonably be seen as contradictory. While the Health  
Care Act 1997 recognised patients’ right to self-determination, including the right to  
reject certain interventions, a Government decree sanctioned health professionals  
carrying out activities within their qualifications in a manner incompatible with the law or  
their licence.  
The Hungarian Government recognised the necessity of regulating this matter; however  
no specific decree to that end had been enacted yet. It had moreover not been disputed  
that, in at least one case, proceedings had been instituted against a health professional  
for home birth assistance.  
The Court therefore concluded that the matter of health professionals assisting home  
births was surrounded by legal uncertainty prone to arbitrariness. Because of the  
absence of specific and comprehensive legislation and of the permanent threat posed to  
health professionals inclined to assist them, the applicant was effectively not free to  
choose to deliver at home. Consequently, there had been a violation of Article 8.  
Article 41  
Under Article 41 (just satisfaction) of the Convention, the Court held that Hungary was  
to pay the applicant 1,250 euros (EUR) in respect of costs and expenses.  
The judgment is available only in English.  
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2
The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of  
Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European  
Convention on Human Rights.  
3