"Impossible or disproportionate burden": The UK's approach to the Investigatory Obligation under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR
In this article, I argue for a rigorous engagement by the UK executive and domestic courts with the European Court of Human Rights’ development of the positive investigatory obligation under arts 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The UK has sought to expand the dicta from Os...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Sweet and Maxwell
2020
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| _version_ | 1797072312764203008 |
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| author | Stubbins Bates, E |
| author_facet | Stubbins Bates, E |
| author_sort | Stubbins Bates, E |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | In this article, I argue for a rigorous engagement by the UK executive and domestic courts with the European Court of Human Rights’ development of the positive investigatory obligation under arts 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The UK has sought to expand the dicta from Osman v United Kingdom that positive obligations should not be interpreted to impose an "impossible or disproportionate burden" on domestic authorities, while under-emphasising the criteria for effective investigations. There are frequent, inappropriate references to "proportionality" in the Ministry of Defence’s decisions to close hundreds of investigations of alleged unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment in Iraq. The ECHR ’s positive investigatory obligations do not allow the closure of investigations on unscrutinised proportionality grounds. This article highlights inconsistencies in domestic cases, and an undesirable divergence between these and the European Court’s jurisprudence. "Impossible or disproportionate burden" must be evidenced and narrowly construed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:05:58Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:63ce8583-5a4f-4ed0-a181-4185a3cb6806 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:05:58Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Sweet and Maxwell |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:63ce8583-5a4f-4ed0-a181-4185a3cb68062022-03-26T18:15:15Z"Impossible or disproportionate burden": The UK's approach to the Investigatory Obligation under Articles 2 and 3 ECHRJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:63ce8583-5a4f-4ed0-a181-4185a3cb6806EnglishSymplectic ElementsSweet and Maxwell2020Stubbins Bates, EIn this article, I argue for a rigorous engagement by the UK executive and domestic courts with the European Court of Human Rights’ development of the positive investigatory obligation under arts 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The UK has sought to expand the dicta from Osman v United Kingdom that positive obligations should not be interpreted to impose an "impossible or disproportionate burden" on domestic authorities, while under-emphasising the criteria for effective investigations. There are frequent, inappropriate references to "proportionality" in the Ministry of Defence’s decisions to close hundreds of investigations of alleged unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment in Iraq. The ECHR ’s positive investigatory obligations do not allow the closure of investigations on unscrutinised proportionality grounds. This article highlights inconsistencies in domestic cases, and an undesirable divergence between these and the European Court’s jurisprudence. "Impossible or disproportionate burden" must be evidenced and narrowly construed. |
| spellingShingle | Stubbins Bates, E "Impossible or disproportionate burden": The UK's approach to the Investigatory Obligation under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR |
| title | "Impossible or disproportionate burden": The UK's approach to the Investigatory Obligation under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR |
| title_full | "Impossible or disproportionate burden": The UK's approach to the Investigatory Obligation under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR |
| title_fullStr | "Impossible or disproportionate burden": The UK's approach to the Investigatory Obligation under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR |
| title_full_unstemmed | "Impossible or disproportionate burden": The UK's approach to the Investigatory Obligation under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR |
| title_short | "Impossible or disproportionate burden": The UK's approach to the Investigatory Obligation under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR |
| title_sort | impossible or disproportionate burden the uk s approach to the investigatory obligation under articles 2 and 3 echr |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stubbinsbatese impossibleordisproportionateburdentheuksapproachtotheinvestigatoryobligationunderarticles2and3echr |