On February 13, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled [3] unanimously that Ukraine violated the right to respect for private life by carrying out unlawful surveillance against three Ukrainian nationals and their lawyer. The surveillance targeted three public officials accused of corruption and included phone tapping and covert video monitoring. Their defense lawyer was also placed under surveillance, with his phone conversations being wiretapped by authorities.

The ECtHR found that Ukraine’s secret surveillance measures were unlawful, as there was no documented legal authorization or justification from authorities for these measures. The court also determined that the Ukrainian authorities failed to provide adequate legal remedies, denying the applicants access to documentation needed to contest the surveillance measures. These actions violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to respect for private life and Article 38, which obligates states to cooperate fully by providing requested evidence to the Court.

Additionally, the ECtHR ruled that Ukrainian authorities infringed upon the professional secrecy of the applicants' lawyer by unlawfully wiretapping his communications with his clients. The court emphasized that lawyer-client confidentiality is a fundamental legal safeguard, and any state interference must be justified with clear and precise legal standards.

As a result of these violations, the ECtHR ordered Ukraine to pay €6,000 in reparations to two of the applicants under Article 41 of the Convention.