Chapter 6 Multiple choice questions

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1. The term 'law' appears often in the Convention. It simply means that actions by States that interfere with Convention rights in ways allowed by the Convention must be lawful under the laws of the nation States.

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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2. Match the case named with the relevant principle of Convention law.

R (Gillan) v Commr of Police for the Metropolis [2006] UKHL 12 contrasted witgh Gillan v UK (2010) 50 EHRR 45 (see Chapter 26, section 26.8.1.).

UK law on phone tapping breached Article 8 ECHR. There was no clear and accessible body of law that regulated phone tapping: the matter was simply left to the discretion of police and security services. It was neither permitted nor forbidden and so, like smoking in the streets, was permitted. UK laws on breach of the peace were not inconsistent with the Convention test of legality. Although based on common law, there had been a series of cases in which the courts had laid down the basic principles on which the power to detain for breach of the peace could be exercised by the police. On the basis of these legal developments, it could be said that the circumstances in which the power could lawfully be used were foreseeable. Special stop-and-search powers required specific authorisation before they could be used by the police. There was no breach of the Convention (the powers were used lawfully) when the powers were used on the basis of an authorisation that had not been publicised. The national law, for Convention purposes, can be made up of rules derived from a wide range of sources, from constitutional law, through statutes, to administrative regulations. The sources of national law, for Convention purposes, are whatever the national courts accept as rules of law that they are to enforce.

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Sahin v Turkey App No 44747/98, Grand Chamber judgment of 10 November 2005.

UK laws on breach of the peace were not inconsistent with the Convention test of legality. Although based on common law, there had been a series of cases in which the courts had laid down the basic principles on which the power to detain for breach of the peace could be exercised by the police. On the basis of these legal developments, it could be said that the circumstances in which the power could lawfully be used were foreseeable. UK law on phone tapping breached Article 8 ECHR. There was no clear and accessible body of law that regulated phone tapping: the matter was simply left to the discretion of police and security services. It was neither permitted nor forbidden and so, like smoking in the streets, was permitted. The national law, for Convention purposes, can be made up of rules derived from a wide range of sources, from constitutional law, through statutes, to administrative regulations. The sources of national law, for Convention purposes, are whatever the national courts accept as rules of law that they are to enforce. Special stop-and-search powers required specific authorisation before they could be used by the police. There was no breach of the Convention (the powers were used lawfully) when the powers were used on the basis of an authorisation that had not been publicised.

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Malone v United Kingdom (1984) 7 EHRR 14.

The national law, for Convention purposes, can be made up of rules derived from a wide range of sources, from constitutional law, through statutes, to administrative regulations. The sources of national law, for Convention purposes, are whatever the national courts accept as rules of law that they are to enforce. UK law on phone tapping breached Article 8 ECHR. There was no clear and accessible body of law that regulated phone tapping: the matter was simply left to the discretion of police and security services. It was neither permitted nor forbidden and so, like smoking in the streets, was permitted. Special stop-and-search powers required specific authorisation before they could be used by the police. There was no breach of the Convention (the powers were used lawfully) when the powers were used on the basis of an authorisation that had not been publicised. UK laws on breach of the peace were not inconsistent with the Convention test of legality. Although based on common law, there had been a series of cases in which the courts had laid down the basic principles on which the power to detain for breach of the peace could be exercised by the police. On the basis of these legal developments, it could be said that the circumstances in which the power could lawfully be used were foreseeable.

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Steel v United Kingdom (2005) 41 EHRR 22.

The national law, for Convention purposes, can be made up of rules derived from a wide range of sources, from constitutional law, through statutes, to administrative regulations. The sources of national law, for Convention purposes, are whatever the national courts accept as rules of law that they are to enforce. Special stop-and-search powers required specific authorisation before they could be used by the police. There was no breach of the Convention (the powers were used lawfully) when the powers were used on the basis of an authorisation that had not been publicised. UK laws on breach of the peace were not inconsistent with the Convention test of legality. Although based on common law, there had been a series of cases in which the courts had laid down the basic principles on which the power to detain for breach of the peace could be exercised by the police. On the basis of these legal developments, it could be said that the circumstances in which the power could lawfully be used were foreseeable. UK law on phone tapping breached Article 8 ECHR. There was no clear and accessible body of law that regulated phone tapping: the matter was simply left to the discretion of police and security services. It was neither permitted nor forbidden and so, like smoking in the streets, was permitted.

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3. Which one of the following statements best expresses the idea of the 'margin of appreciation'?

Margin of appreciation is a doctrine that allows States to decide how the rights and freedoms in the Convention are to be secured. correct incorrect

Margin of appreciation is a doctrine by which the European Court of Human Rights allows States a degree of choice over the measures necessary to secure Convention rights. The extent of this choice depends on the Article and the issues involved in any case. correct incorrect

Margin of appreciation is a doctrine by which national courts (the courts of the signatory States giving effect to national law) can decide, when dealing with human rights cases, to accept the judgment of their parliament, executive and administration on what is required to secure Convention rights in the country. correct incorrect

Margin of appreciation is a doctrine by which the determination of the impact of law on sexual morality is left exclusively to the national authorities. correct incorrect

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4. At the heart of the Convention concept of a democratic society is a parliamentary system based on representative democracy and the accountability of government to an elected legislature.

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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5. Proportionality only applies when the European Court of Human Rights (or a national court) is deciding cases under Articles 8–11: specifically, whether an interference with the freedoms protected by those Articles is 'necessary in a democratic society'.

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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6. The ECHR only prohibits State officials from doing things (such as subjecting people to inhuman treatment, depriving them of their liberty in arbitrary ways or preventing them, without justification, from expressing themselves).

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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7. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has developed its own definitions of important legal concepts that are applied independently of how they are understood under national legal systems. These are called ……… concepts.

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