How does a state protect the right to life, asks Sarah Lowe
The issue of what is required by a state in order to protect the right to life in accordance with Art 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (the Convention) has been litigated extensively over the years in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and domestic courts.
The events at the end of the last century in Northern Ireland have given rise to a plethora of case law around what is required in order to comply with Art 2. One of the leading cases, McCann v UK (1995) 21 EHRR 97 concerned the killing of three suspected IRA terrorists by SAS soldiers. The ECtHR held that in order to protect life in accordance with Art 2 there should be an effective official investigation into deaths which occur as a result of the use of lethal force by the state.
What constituted an effective official investigation was explored further in the cases of Jordan 2003 37 EHRR 52, Kelly v UK (App No 30054/96), McKerr v UK (2002) 34 EHRR 553
