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1998 UK 1 Article 2: Right to life Demeanour This means that nobody, including the
Government, can try to end your life. It also means the Government
should take appropriate measures to safeguard life by making laws to protect
you and, in some circumstances, by taking steps to protect you if your life
is at risk. Public authorities should also consider your
right to life when making decisions that might put you in danger or that
affect your life expectancy. If a member of your family dies in circumstances
that involve the state, you may have the right to an investigation. The state
is also required to investigate suspicious deaths and deaths in custody. The courts have decided that the right to life
does not include a right to die. Separately, Protocol 13, Article 1 of the
Human Rights Act makes the death penalty illegal in the UK. Are there any restrictions to this right? Article 2 is often referred to as an ‘absolute
right’. These are rights that can never be interfered with by the state.
There are situations, however, when it does not apply. For example, a person’s right to life is not
breached if they die when a public authority (such as the police) uses
necessary force to: ·
stop them carrying out unlawful violence ·
make a lawful arrest ·
stop them escaping lawful detainment, and ·
stop a riot or uprising. Of course, even in these circumstances, the force
used must be essential and strictly proportionate. Force is ‘proportionate’
when it is appropriate and no more than necessary to address the problem
concerned. The positive obligation on the state to protect a
person’s life is not absolute. Due to limited resources, the state might not
always be able fulfil this obligation. This could mean, for example, that the
state does not have to provide life-saving drugs to everyone in all
circumstances. Using this right – example. A social worker from the domestic violence team
in a local authority used human rights arguments to get new accommodation for
a woman and her family at risk of serious harm from a violent ex-partner. She
based her case on the local authority’s obligation to protect the family’s
right to life and the right not to be treated in an inhuman or degrading way. (Example provided by the British Institute of
Human Rights) What the law says. Article 2: Right to life 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 of a crime for which the
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: ·
in defence of any person from unlawful violence ·
in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent
the escape of a person lawfully detained, and ·
in action lawfully taken for the purpose of
quelling a riot or insurrection. Note: See Article 1 of Protocol 13 for the
wording in the Act that makes the death penalty illegal in the UK. Example case: Pretty v United Kingdom [2002] A woman suffering from an incurable degenerative
disease wanted to control when and how she died. To avoid an undignified
death, she wanted her husband to help her take her life. She sought assurance
that he would not be prosecuted, but the European Court of Human Rights found
that the right to life does not create a right to choose death rather than
life. It meant there was no right to die at the hands of a third person or
with the assistance of a public authority. Case summary taken from Human rights, human
lives: a guide to the Human Rights Act for public authorities, which
shares examples and legal case studies that show how human rights work
in practice. |