The Evolving Jurisprudence of the European Convention concerning the Right to Life

Abstract

Article 2 of the European Convention protects the foremost of all rights – the right to life. Until recently it has received little judicial attention from the European Court and Commission. This article argues that before the McCann vs United Kingdom decision the European Human Rights regime was hesitant and conservative in its approach to the appropriate level of protection for the right to life. McCann was a turning point. The Court widened protection for life by placing obligations on the state in its planning and execution of law enforcement operations. The article charts the progressively tighter standards being drawn by the Court since McCann. These include strict standards of review for investigative procedures after a death; a coalescence of European and United Nations investigative standards; and the confirmation that situations of emergency do not discharge States of their obligations to protect the right to life. In a series of joined cases now pending before the European Court (Kelly, Jordan, McKerr and Shanaghan vs United Kingdom) the article asserts that the Court has a unique opportunity to consolidate its jurisprudence on procedural protections for the right to life. It advocates a move towards articulating specific measures and principles which link investigation of the violation with the substantive protection of the right to life itself. Such measures and principles are outlined and evaluated.