The case of Catruc v. Moldova was communicated to the Government by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The case happened in July 2014, when a football goal fell on a nine-year-old child and the boy died in the hospital. The Promo-LEX Association said that this case concerns the alleged failure of the Moldovan authorities to carry out an effective investigation into the accidental death of the female applicant's son, IPN reports.

On July 26, 2014, the nine-year-old boy went to a sports field together with his brother and was playing football with other boys. The frame of the football goal, which was not fixed to the ground, fell on him, causing serious injuries to his head. Although he was rushed to the hospital, the child died 12 days later, on August 7, 2014.

The child's mother Ludmila Catruc filed a complaint and a criminal case was started against local officials on August 11, 2014 for misconduct in office. However, on March 15, 2015, the Criuleni Prosecutor's Office ordered to stop the criminal investigation, arguing that there are no persons who can be held criminally responsible for the child's death. The arguments included the fact that football goals are mobile so as to allow the multiple use of the field and that there are no standards or obligations to fix them.

Dissatisfied with the decision, the applicant challenged it and the court ordered the resumption of the investigation, considering that not all the factual and legal aspects of the case had been clarified. However, the investigation was delayed and, at the time the application was submitted to the ECHR, the investigation was still ongoing.

Lawyer Vadim Vieru, the representative of Promo-LEX and of the applicant in this case, underlined the major problem of the ineffective investigation of the death from a procedural perspective. “After so many years, there is no concrete result of the investigation into the tragic death of a child and this is unacceptable. The lack of authorities’ diligence in this case raises serious questions about the compliance with the positive obligations of the state to protect the right to life. Moreover, the fact that there are no clear standards for ensuring the security of sports equipment in public spaces is a serious deficiency," says the lawyer.

According to him, there were similar incidents in which children were injured or lost their lives due to unsafe infrastructure. It is essential that the authorities take concrete measures to prevent such tragedies. Ignoring these issues endangers the lives and safety of citizens, especially children.

The Association considers that the European Court’s decision to communicate this case to the Government of the Republic of Moldova is an important step towards obtaining justice and it is hopeful that the authorities will take the necessary measures to remedy the identified faults.