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Martinez Fernandez v. Hungary (Application no. 30814/22)

Judgment delivered 27 May 2025

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found that Hungary violated the rights of Ms Benitóné Martinez Fernandez, an 83-year-old woman with dementia who was involuntarily detained and treated in a psychiatric hospital for six days in 2020. The judgment is a significant confirmation of procedural safeguards for people with psychosocial disabilities.

Ms Martinez Fernandez was represented before the Court by Dr Janos Fiala-Butora, lecturer at the Centre for Disability Law and Policy and member of the Crime, Punishment and Rights Research Cluster at the School of Law, at the University of Galway.

The Strasbourg Court found a violation of Article 5(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to liberty and security.  It held that Hungarian authorities failed to ensure that her detention was “lawful and devoid of arbitrariness”.  The Court raised serious concerns about the conduct of the court-appointed guardian ad litem and the impact of sedating medication on Ms Martinez Fernandez’s ability to participate in the court hearing reviewing her hospitalisation.

Notably, the Court criticised the systemic underperformance of guardians ad litem in proceedings such as these in Hungary.  This case also highlighted the broader structural failure to ensure effective legal representation and meaningful participation for persons with psychosocial disabilities, a point supported by previous findings from the Hungarian Commissioner for Fundamental Rights.

The Court awarded Ms Martinez Fernandez €4,000 in non-pecuniary damages and €5,000 in legal costs.

This case underscores the need for High Contracting Parties to the ECHR to uphold the procedural rights of persons with disabilities, particularly in situations of involuntary treatment.  It also reinforces the importance of rights-based representation and effective safeguards in mental health proceedings.

Dr János Fiala-Butora, who represented the applicant, is a leading human rights lawyer in the field of international disability rights and has been at the forefront of efforts to align European human rights law with the standards of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).  Through his litigation, academic research, and policy engagement, he has persistently called for a more disability-inclusive interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, especially in areas concerning legal capacity, involuntary detention and forced treatment, and access to justice.  This case illustrates the pressing need for the European Court of Human Rights to engage more meaningfully with the CRPD and to ensure its jurisprudence reflects international standards that affirm the legal capacity, dignity, and equal rights of persons with disabilities.

Dr János Fiala-Butora holds degrees in law and international relations from Comenius University and the University of Economics in Slovakia, an LLM in International Human Rights Law from Central European University, and an SJD from Harvard Law School, where his doctoral work focused on legal capacity under international human rights law.  He is a seasoned human rights litigator with extensive experience representing persons with disabilities, members of ethnic minority communities, and people deprived of liberty before the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and other international bodies.  His litigation has contributed to high-profile judgments in areas such as freedom from torture, the right to legal capacity, and access to education.