The case concerned three Romani women - I.G., R.K. and M.K., who were forcibly sterilized in Krompachy Hospital in Eastern Slovakia.
They also acted as injured parties in the criminal proceedings, led by the Slovak police and prosecutors from 2003 onwards.
The European Court declared that the sterilization without informed consent of their legal guardians violated the Slovak legislation valid at the time of the interventions.
Yet again, the European Court found that Slovakia also violated the positive obligation under Article 8 of the Convention to provide effective protection of reproductive right of Romani women, who are particularly vulnerable group in the population.
Importantly, the decision differs from the previous cases on the matter in the fact that for the first time, the Court also found that the investigation led by the Slovak authorities into the case did not meet the standards of effective investigation guaranteed by the Convention (procedural aspect of Article 3).