Human rights Flashcards
1
Q
European convention on human rights
A
- Drafted in 1950 by the newly formed council of Europe
- Treaty to protect human rights and freedoms in Europe
- Came into force on 3rd September 1953
- Two drivers
- Part of a wider response by the allied powers in delivering a human rights agenda following violations during WW2
- Secondly, designed to protect the member
2
Q
The Holocaust
A
- Genocide of approximately 6 Million Jews during WWII
- State-sponsored execution by Nazi Germany
- Two-thrids of the Jewish population living in Europe before the outbreak of war were killed
- If the Nazi’s Genocide of other ethic groups was included, it would total between eleven and seventeen million people
3
Q
The Holocaust (2)
A
- Mentally ill
- Our starting point is not the individual: we do not subscribe to the view that one should feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, or clothe the naked
- Our objectives are different: We must have a healthy people in order to prevail in the world
- Homosexuals
- Between 5,000 and 15,000 homosexuals of German nationality are estimated to have been sent to concentration camps
4
Q
European convention on human rights
A
- Positive and negative obligations and rights
- Positive obligations on the state to take active steps to protect against infringements of one’s rights by others
- Positive rights- rights to expect the state to take positive action to uphold the right
- Negative obligations on state not to interfere with a right
- Negative rights- rights not to have things done
- Convention is a living instrument
- Reflects changes in social attitudes
5
Q
Article- Right to life
A
- Everyone right to life shall be protected by law
- No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally (save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which the penalty is provided by law
- Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as infliceted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary
- A) In defence of any person from unlawful violence
- B) In order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained
- C) In action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection
6
Q
Article 2 in healthcare
A
- Nitecki v Poland
- An issue may arise under article 2 where it is shown that the authorities of a contracting state put an individual’s life at risk through the denial of healthcare which they have undertaken to make available to the population generally
7
Q
Article 3- Prohibition of torture
A
- No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Implications to healthcare
- Is the denial of euthanasia contrary to article 3
- Diane pretty case
- Could some form of non-consensual treatment fall foul of article 3
- Is the denial of euthanasia contrary to article 3
8
Q
Article 4- prohibition of salvery
A
- No one shall be held in salveryor servitude
- No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour
- For the purpose of this article the term forced or compulsory labour shall not include
- Any work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention improsed according to the provisions of article 5 of this convention or during conditional release from such detection
- Any service of a military character or in case of conscientious objectors in countries where they are recognised, service exacted instead or compulsory military service
- Any service exacted in case of an emergency of calamity threarening the life or well-being of the community
- Any work or service which forms part of normal civic obligations
9
Q
Article 5- protection against arbitrary dattention
A
- Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law
10
Q
Article 6- right to a fair trial
A
- In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fiar and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law
* Judgement shall be pronounced publicly but the press and public may be excluded from all our part of the trial in the interest of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require or the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interest of justice
11
Q
Article 7- prevention of retrospecitivity
A
- No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed
- Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed
- The article shall not prejudice the trial and punishment of any person for any act or omission which, at the time it was committed, was criminal according to the general law recognised by civilised nations
12
Q
Article 8- Right to privacy and family life
A
- Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his some and his correspondence
- There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right expect such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the econmic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals for the protection of rights and freedoms of others
13
Q
Glass v UK
A
- Doctors administered diamorphine to a child who they believed to be dying as a palliative measure
- This was against the wishes of the child’s mother, who believed that the diamorphine would decrease the child chances of recovery, without any court order although there was plenty of time to get one
- This was deemed to have been contrary to article 8- the child’s privacy had been breached
- If there is a dispute as the best interests of a patient, there should be a court order unless urgent treatment is necessary
14
Q
Article 9- freedom of thought, conscience and religion
A
- Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, and to manifest his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practise and observance
- Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interest of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of other
15
Q
Jehovah’s witness
A
- Refusal of blood transfusions on religious grounds
- What about the refusal of a blood transfusion for a child on the same ground
- Is this a violation of article 9 as not observing the parent’s wishes violates the family’s religious freedom and their right to respect for family life
- However what about thrrights of the child to life under article 2
16
Q
Article 10- freedom and expression
A
- Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent states from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, TV or cinema enterprises
