1. Article 2: Right to Life - Case Law Article 3: to be free from torture or to inhuman or Article 4: no one shall be held in slavery or
degrading treatment or punishment – Case Law servitude or be required to perform forced or
Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993) compulsory labour – Case Law
Tony Bland was seriously injured in the Z v UK (2001)
Hillsborough disaster and was being kept alive only
be extensive medical care. He survived for 3 years Siliadin v France (2005)
Four siblings were all British nationals. In Various reports were
in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). He had no made to social services relating to mis-treatment of the
chance of recovery and his doctors sought a A fifteen year old Togolese girl was brought to France to work
children. It was found that the children were stealing food in the household of a French family with promises that she
declaration from the court that it would be lawful from the school bins, that their rooms were in a filthy state
to stop treatment so that he might die peacefully. would be sent to school and have her immigration status
including urine soaked mattresses and excrement smeared on regularised. She was not paid for her work, was not allowed to
The court held that they could do this because it the windows. It was also reported that the children were
was in the best interests of the patient. It was not go to school and her passport was taken away. She was ‘lent’
locked in their rooms and suffered various bruises. It took 5 to another family and became housemaid working 16 hour
in breach of Article 2. years before the children were placed in emergency foster days and only being allowed out to attend church on a
care on the demand of their mother who said that if they Sunday. She slept in the baby’s room on a mattress and had to
Pretty v UK (2002) were not removed from her care she would batter them. The
Diane Pretty was terminally ill with Motor Neurone attend to him in the nights. The ECHR found that Article 4 had
European Court of Human rights found that the UK had been breached in that the French Criminal Law did not provide
Disease. She wanted to obtain the right to be able breached Article 3 of the convention by not protecting the
to request medical help to die at a time of her effective and practical protection from forced labour.
children from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or
choosing. She wanted a guarantee that her punishment.
husband would not be prosecuted for assisting her
suicide.
The court withheld permission and said that they
did not have the power to give this guarantee.
There is no corresponding right to death under
Article 2.
Article 5: Right to liberty and security – Case Law Article 6: Right to a fair and public hearing – case
law
Re A (conjoined twins) (2001) Austin v Metropolitan Police Commissioner (2009)
Jodie and Mary were joined at the lower abdomen. Thompson and Venables v UJ (1999)
Jodie’s heart and lungs provided oxygenated blood It was decided in this case that demonstrators who had been Lawyers of the two boys who murdered the Liverpool toddler
from both. Both would die unless something was confined within a police cordon for several hours did not James Bulger complained that the original trial held in 1993
done. If the twins were separated there was a good suffer a violation of their right to liberty guaranteed by article was unfair as they were tried by an adult court sitting in
chance that Jodie could live a fairly normal life but 5 if the cordon was part of the crowd control measures public. As youth’s (aged 10) their case should have been
the operation would cause the death of Mary. The adopted by the police in order to prevent a breach of public closed to the public. The Human Rights Commission also
twin’s parents opposed the application for religious order and that the measures were taken in good faith and thought it was a breach of Article 6 rights. The ECHR therefore
reasons. The court granted permission for the were proportionate and did not go on for longer than decided to hold the case in private.
operation to go ahead. It was the better of two necessary.
evils and necessary to save the life of Jodie.
HUMAN RIGHTS CASE LAW