Article 2 Of The European Convention Of Human Rights - Topic 15 + 22 Flashcards
When does the ‘right to life’ begin?
When a child is born and breathing with its own two lungs.
Pretty v DPP
Pretty had motor neuron disease and wanted to control her death however she couldn’t do it alone and required her husbands help. Pretty asked the court whether they could promise not to prosecute her husband after her death and was refused - right to life doesn’t include the right to die.
Purdy v DPP
Suffered from primary progressive multiple sclerosis which eventually would become unbearable to live with. Due to this Purdy wanted to end her life however she would have to move to another country where it was legal and have her husband help her which would mean he could possibly be prosecuted.
Right to life doesn’t mean right to die, Bland
After Hilsbrough Bland was kept alive in a vegetative state and after 3 years was permitted for doctors to take out his feeding tube so he could die.
what is the importance of Oneryildiz v Turkey?
A2 imposes an obligation on the state to take steps to protect life where they are aware of an environmental risk - in Oneryildiz v Turkey 39 people died in a methane explosion at a rubbish tip.
Osman v UK
State ought to protect life when:
The state knew or ought to have known of an existence of a real and immediate risk to an identifiable individual and failed to take reasonable measures to avoid/ migrate the risk.
Mitchell v Glasgow
Mitchell couldn’t successfully sue the council for negligence.
Mitchell v CC of South Wales
Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire established that you can’t sue the police for negligence in the uk for an omission
Keenan v UK
The state owes a duty to prisoners under A2 of the ECHR to protect prisoners but in Keenan v UK they hadn’t breached their duty as the authorities had taken all appropriate measures.
Amin v SoS
When there is a death in custody a thorough investigation must take place to establish the cause. This is also the case for attempted Unicode, JL v SoS for justice.
Rabone v Penine Care NHS Trust
Establishes that there is no distinction between prisoners and mental health patients in relation to prevention of suicide. The state has a duty to do all that is reasonable to prevent suicide whilst in state care and to complete a thorough investigation if deaths do occur. The state also owes a duty of care under A2 even if the patient was no longer detained/ was voluntarily in the mental health institution.
McCann v UK
The shooting of 3 IRA terrorists was held not to be absolutely necessary as they were unarmed and without a bomb at the time - A2 was breached.
Matzaraski v Greece
The polices actions in pursuing and shooting a suspect was a violation of A2 also no thorough investigation took place after the shooting.
Armani Da Silva v UK
The mistaken identity of a Brazilian student was held NOT to violate A2. The police genuinely believed that he posed an immediate threat to life and that trained police officers were used. They thought the force was absolutely necessary. The English Law on self defence is used to decide whether the force used was necessary and reasonable.
Did the force used in Stewart v UK breach A2?
A 13 year old boy was killed during ‘riots’ in Northern Ireland. Accounts of what happened would differ but the ECHT accepted that the soldiers only did what was necessary in these circumstances to quell a riot.
