Chapter 8 Multiple choice questions

1. Which one of the following statements is true concerning the significance and scope of Article 2?

Article 2 is one of the most fundamental provisions in the Convention and this is indicated by the fact that there are no circumstances in which a State can derogate from it under Article 15.

Any death for which the State is responsible must be subject to a proper and appropriate investigation.

The sole point of Article 2 is to prevent officials, including police and military, from acting in ways that threaten life, unless they come within the exceptions listed in the second paragraph.

Article 2 places a duty on States to protect life and not to kill in all circumstances.

2. Which one of the following statements best expresses the situation that must be proved by the State (in Strasbourg under the ECHR) or the relevant authority (e.g. police etc. in UK courts under the HRA 1998), regarding the state of mind of those using the lethal force?

The force was no more than absolutely necessary in the view of the police officers involved, even if their view was based on mistakes of fact, as long as those mistakes were honestly held and based on "good reasons" (the compatibility of the Convention with common law has recently been confirmed in Da Silva v United Kingdom App. 5878/08 Grand Chamber judgment of 30 March 2016.

The force was no more than absolutely necessary in the view of the police officers involved, even if their view was based on mistakes of fact, as long as those mistakes were honestly held.

The force was no more than was reasonable in the view of the police officers involved, even if their view was based on mistakes of fact, as long as those mistakes were honestly held and based on reasonable grounds.

The force was no more than absolutely necessary in the circumstances.

3. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has recognised that States may have positive duties under Article 2 to take positive measures to protect a particular individual who police or other officials know, or ought to know, is under threat of real risk to life. The officials are then required to take reasonable steps to meet this threat. The duty is known by reference to the leading case in which it was first articulated: the ……… duty.

4. Which one of the following would be likely to require a full, independent, and public investigation (such as in Jordan v UK) in order to satisfy the procedural aspect of Article 2?

The shooting of an unarmed, innocent, man by the police in controversial and disputed circumstances

Suicide in prison

A death in hospital, probably from negligent nursing

A death in a dangerous fairground

5. Which of the following are required if an investigation of a death for which the State has responsibilities is to be full and effective, as required by the 'procedural' aspect of Article 2? Please select all that apply.

The investigation must, in all circumstances, be in public.

The investigation must involve the family.

The investigation must not be carried out only by others in the same organisation that was responsible for the deaths, and the investigators must be in a position to get at the truth and identify wrongdoing and wrongdoers.

Each investigation required to satisfy Article 2 must be of the same type.

6. Under Article 2, capital punishment (the death penalty) is allowed in time of war, e.g. as a punishment for cowardice in the face of the enemy.

True

False

7. Relate the national laws to the provision in Article 2 which either permits those laws or requires them.

National laws which provide a defence for police and others who use reasonable force in the suppression of a riot.

National laws which permit police and other officials to use proportionate force to give effect to an arrest.

National laws which give a legal defence to murder based on proportionate acts of self-defence.

National laws and policies which give effect to the crime of murder, its investigation and punishment.

8. Article 2 has implications for medical treatment. It means that the preservation of life must outweigh all other interests and concerns.

True

False

9. Which one of the following statements best expresses the general approach to abortion of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)?

States may not seek to restrict, through their laws, the availability of abortion to women in the first three months of pregnancy.

Since, under the Convention, States have a wide margin of appreciation over the moment when life starts and Article 2 protection for the life of the embryo/foetus/child begins, States may have laws that ban abortion in all circumstances.

Since, under the Convention, States have a wide margin of appreciation over the moment when life starts and Article 2 protection for the life of the embryo/foetus/child begins, States may have laws that are completely 'pro-choice' and allow a woman to have an abortion at any time, if she so chooses.

Under the Convention, States have a wide margin of appreciation over the moment when life starts and Article 2 protection for the life of the embryo/foetus/child begins. States must regulate abortion, however, and avoid an abortion law that, by being over-restrictive or too liberal, fails to give full recognition to Convention rights.

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