Van Dijk v. the Netherlands

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 21064/23 Yvonne Renate VAN DIJK against the Netherlands

(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 12 March 2026 as a Committee composed of:

Anne Louise Bormann , President , Sebastian Răduleţu, András Jakab , judges ,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application against the Kingdom of the Netherlands lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 17 May 2023,

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

The applicant’s details are set out in the appended table.

The applicant was represented by Mr M. Erkens, a lawyer practising in The Hague.

The applicant’s complaint under Article 8 of the Convention concerning the decision to terminate her parental authority ( ouderlijke macht ) over her son were communicated to the Dutch Government (“the Government”).

The Court received a declaratory agreement ( vaststellingsovereenkomst ) governed by Dutch law, signed by the parties, under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against the Netherlands in respect of the facts giving rise to this application, subject to the following undertakings by the Government:

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application.

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.

Done in English and notified in writing on 2 April 2026.

Viktoriya Maradudina Anne Louise Bormann Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

Application raising complaints under Article 8 of the Convention

(decision to terminate parental authority)

Application no. Date of introduction

Applicant’s name

Year of birth

Representative’s name and location

Date of receipt of Government’s declaration

Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration

Amount awarded for non-pecuniary damage

(in euros) [1]

21064/23

17/05/2023

Yvonne Renate VAN DIJK

1968

Erkens Marco

The Hague

28/01/2026

16/01/2026

20,000

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.