Article 8 - The right to respect for family and private life

Question 1

What does this article mean?

Answer 1

This means that no-one without just cause can interfere with your right to live a free life.

This article protects citizens from interference with their privacy and can impose obligations on public bodies, such as the government or local authorities to promote such privacy.

Question 2

Privacy

Answer 2

Citizen has right to live their own life in a way that they choose to do so in private. This could include choosing their own sexuality, appearance or the right not to be interfered with by the media without public interest.

Question 3

Douglas v Hello! Ltd: Privacy

Answer 3

2 actors sued Hello! Magazine when that magazine had published unauthorised photos of their wedding. They sought the courts to grant an injunction preventing the publication of the photographs.

Held: Court had to uphold their privacy while balancing this with the magazine’s freedom of expression in publishing the photos under Article 10. Both were happy to have the wedding publicised and agreed with another magazine who they authorised to publish.

Question 4

Family Life

Answer 4

Respecting a person’s choices on how they conduct their family relationships, such as sexual activity, being married or unmarried, having children within or outside of marriage, allowing those families seeking immigration or settlement to live together until status is granted.

Question 5

Home

Answer 5

Covers home owners, tenants and landlords and means respecting a person’s right to access and occupy their home without interference from public authorities, like being evicted without just cause. Including peaceful enjoyment of one’s home without noise or other types of pollution.

Question 6

Hatton v UK: Home

Answer 6

H sought a declaration that the increase of noise, caused by aircraft landing and taking off from Heathrow Airport in London, was a breach of Article 8.

Outcome: Court decided that the applicant’s right to respect his family and private life had been breached.

Question 7

Correspondence

Answer 7

Respecting a person’s post, email, phone calls, texts etc.

Question 8

Before 1998 Act…

Answer 8

there was no general right to privacy. Homes were generally protected under tort law, while several Acts of Parliament protected correspondence in different ways.