Article2-Right To Life

Right to Life
Article 2 of the ECHR
ETHR 103
Fall 2012
Asst. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Oya Usal
1
Article 2, ECHR (1)
1. Everyone’s 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 for a crime for which this penalty is provided
by law.
2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted 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) an action lawfully taken for the purposes of
quelling a riot or insurrection.
2
Article 2 places a number of
obligations on states:
 the obligation to refrain from the
intentional taking of life
 the obligation to take the necessary steps

to protect human life. This entails
introducing laws and criminal penalties to
dissuade people from harming others, and
carrying out thorough investigations into
deaths.
OR IN OTHER WORDS;
3
Article 2 imposes two types of duties
on the state (and its officials):
1. A negative obligation NOT to deprive

anyone of his/her life save in the
limited circumstances prescribed by
article 2(2).
For example: Any death caused by an
agent of the State using force beyond that
which is absolutely necessary or for a
reason other than that laid down in
paragraph 2(2) will amount to a violation
of Article 2. 4
2. A positive obligation on the State to

TAKE appropriate measures to safeguard
the lives of those within its jurisdiction.
In particular, this positive obligation includes

a duty to put in place ‘effective criminal law
provisions to DETER the commission of
offences against the person, backed up by
law enforcement machinery for the
PREVENTION, SUPPRESSION and
SANCTIONING of breaches of such provisions’
5
Positive Obligation (continued)

In certain well-defined circumstances, State
authorities will also have a positive obligation
to take PREVENTIVE operational measures to
protect an individual whose life is at risk from
the criminal acts of other private individuals,
environmental hazards or even him/herself.
This may under certain circumstances require
the State to protect certain individuals from
identifiable threats to their lives.
6
Positive Obligation (continued)
Furthermore, all deaths must be properly

INVESTIGATED. The law must properly
prohibit and punish killings, and unlawful
killing must be subject to criminal
sanctions. The law must be effectively
implemented
7
Standard of proof
In terms of the standard of proof, where it is alleged

that loss of life was caused by a State agent, the
Strasbourg Court has held that this must be proved
beyond reasonable doubt
However, where an individual dies in custody and the

State fails to provide a satisfactory explanation, the
Court may nonetheless reach the conclusion that the
death occurred as a result of the acts or omission of
the State authorities. The burden of proof in such
cases falls on the State to identify the cause of death
since the necessary information surrounding the
circumstances of death may only be available to the
State authorities.
8
Protection of life by law (1)
• Content of the law protecting life; the mechanisms

for its enforcement and their application in practice
• Criminal sanctions for intentional and unintentional

killing
9
Protection of life by law (2)
• An obligation to investigate deaths:
― the scope of the investigation
― investigation by an independent authority
― investigation must be thorough and rigorous
10
Procedural safeguards required for an
investigation (1)
• It must be carried out by an independent body

in public;
• It must be thorough and rigorous;
• It must be capable of imputing responsibility

for the death;
11
Procedural safeguards required for an
investigation (2)
• If agents of the State are responsible, it must be

capable of determining whether the killing was or was not
justified under Article 2(2);
• If initiated on the basis of a criminal complaint, the

complainant must be able to take part in the proceedings;
and
• It must enable effective involvement of a next-of-
kin.
Any investigation must be capable of considering
any systemic failures that could have caused the death.
12
Positive obligations to safeguard life
(1)
• Police protection
13
(2)
• Medical treatment
• Protection of prisoners
14
(3)
• Environmental risks
• Deportation
15
Absolute necessity and the permitted
exceptions to the right to life
(1)
• Absolute necessity
• Article 2(2)(a): in defence of any person from

unlawful violence
16
Absolute necessity and the permitted
exceptions to the right to life
(2)
• Article 2(2)(b): in order to affect a lawful arrest or

to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained
• Article 2(2)(c): action lawfully taken for the purpose

of quelling a riot or insurrection
17
Prior to the use of lethal force, the
following must be taken into account:
• The right to life of the general population and also

of the suspects
• Precautions must be taken to avoid or minimise

incidental loss of civilian life
• The training given to those involved
• The calculations of risk made
18
Issues arising out of the right to life
(1)
• The death penalty
• Amnesty
19
Issues arising out of the right to life
(2)
• Abortion
• Euthanasia
20
Article 2: key issues
• It is an absolute right
• Where it permits the lawful taking of life, this is

subject to specified circumstances and subject to
the test of absolute necessity
• It imposes on the State both negative and positive

obligations
• Key cases are: Jordan v UK (04.08.2001 );McCann
v UK (27.09.1995 ), Osman v Uk (28 October 1998), Pretty

21
v UK (29 July 2002)

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Right to Life

Article 2 of the ECHR

1. Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one

 the obligation to take the necessary steps

1. A negative obligation NOT to deprive

2. A positive obligation on the State to

In particular, this positive obligation includes

Positive Obligation (continued)

Positive Obligation (continued)

Furthermore, all deaths must be properly

In terms of the standard of proof, where it is alleged

However, where an individual dies in custody and the

• Content of the law protecting life; the mechanisms

• Criminal sanctions for intentional and unintentional

• An obligation to investigate deaths:

― the scope of the investigation

― investigation by an independent authority

― investigation must be thorough and rigorous

• It must be carried out by an independent body

• It must be thorough and rigorous;

• It must be capable of imputing responsibility

• If agents of the State are responsible, it must be

• If initiated on the basis of a criminal complaint, the

• Article 2(2)(a): in defence of any person from

• Article 2(2)(b): in order to affect a lawful arrest or

• Article 2(2)(c): action lawfully taken for the purpose

• The right to life of the general population and also

• Precautions must be taken to avoid or minimise

• The training given to those involved

• The calculations of risk made

• The death penalty

• Where it permits the lawful taking of life, this is

• It imposes on the State both negative and positive

• Key cases are: Jordan v UK (04.08.2001 );McCann

v UK (27.09.1995 ), Osman v Uk (28 October 1998), Pretty

v UK (29 July 2002)

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