Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) protects the right to respect for private and family life, home, and correspondence.
Article 8 guarantees individuals protection against unnecessary or disproportionate interference by public authorities into their private lives, family relationships, homes, or personal communications. Interference is permissible only if lawful, necessary, and proportionate for specific legitimate aims.
Understanding Article 8 is essential to safeguarding personal freedoms, ensuring privacy, and preventing unjustified state intervention in private and family life.
April 22, 2026
Mrs Pretty, suffering from terminal motor neurone disease, sought an undertaking that her husband would not be prosecuted if he assisted her suicide. The European Court of Human Rights held that the UK's prohibition on assisted suicide did not violate Articles 2, 3, 8, 9 or 14 of the Convention,...
April 22, 2026
Mrs López Ostra lived 12 metres from a waste treatment plant that emitted fumes, smells and noise causing health problems and nuisance. Despite complaints, Spanish authorities failed to adequately address the pollution. The ECtHR held Spain violated Article 8, establishing that severe environmental pollution can breach the right to private...
April 22, 2026
A journalist complained that Austrian courts failed to protect his reputation after being accused in a magazine of being part of a 'hunting society' that drove a professor to suicide. The ECtHR held that Austria violated Article 8 by failing to balance the applicant's right to reputation against freedom of...
April 22, 2026
Mr Leander was denied employment at a Swedish Naval Museum due to secret police records classifying him as a security risk. He was never told the contents of these records. The Court found Sweden's personnel control system lawful and necessary for national security, with adequate safeguards against abuse. Facts Torsten...
April 22, 2026
A mentally handicapped sixteen-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at a care home. Her father could not file a criminal complaint on her behalf due to a gap in Dutch law requiring victims over sixteen to complain personally. The Court found the Netherlands violated Article 8 by failing to provide effective...
April 22, 2026
Christine Goodwin, a post-operative male-to-female transsexual, challenged the UK's refusal to legally recognise her reassigned gender. She faced difficulties with employment records, pensions, and marriage rights. The ECtHR found violations of Articles 8 and 12, marking a significant departure from previous case law on transsexual rights. Facts The applicant, Christine...
April 22, 2026
Mr Dudgeon, a homosexual man in Northern Ireland, challenged laws criminalising private consensual homosexual acts between adult males. The European Court of Human Rights held that maintaining such legislation constituted an unjustified interference with his right to respect for private life under Article 8, as it was disproportionate to any...
April 22, 2026
Paula Marckx, an unmarried mother, challenged Belgian law which required formal recognition to establish legal ties with her illegitimate daughter Alexandra. The Court found Belgian law discriminated against illegitimate children and unmarried mothers regarding affiliation, family relationships, and inheritance rights, violating Articles 8 and 14 of the Convention. Facts Alexandra...
February 26, 2026
A Palestinian family of six living in Gaza applied for entry clearance to the UK to join their sponsor, the father’s younger brother, a British citizen. The Court of Appeal allowed the Secretary of State’s appeal, holding that the tribunals below had applied the wrong legal test for family life...
February 19, 2026
Mr Lloyd sought to bring a representative action against Google for alleged breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998, claiming Google secretly tracked iPhone users' internet activity via the 'Safari workaround' and used data commercially without consent. The Supreme Court held that compensation under the DPA 1998 requires proof of...
February 16, 2026
Swiss authorities intercepted a telephone call Mr Amann received from the Soviet embassy and created a card labelling him a 'contact with the Russian embassy', storing it in the federal security index. The Court found violations of Article 8 as Swiss law lacked sufficient clarity regarding surveillance scope and data...
February 16, 2026
Turkish security forces burned applicants' homes in 1992, forcing them to abandon their village. The Court awarded compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage following its principal judgment finding violations of Article 8, Article 1 Protocol 1, and Article 25 of the Convention. Facts This case concerns claims for just satisfaction...
February 16, 2026
Mrs Airey, an Irish woman of limited financial means, sought a judicial separation from her allegedly violent husband but could not afford legal representation. Ireland provided no civil legal aid. The European Court of Human Rights held that the State's failure to ensure effective access to court violated Article 6(1)...
February 16, 2026
A Moroccan-Dutch father sought a residence permit for his 9-year-old son Souffiane to live with him in the Netherlands after the child's mother died. The Court held by 5-4 that refusing the permit did not violate Article 8, as the father had chosen to emigrate and could maintain family life...
February 16, 2026
The applicant, a homosexual man, was convicted of gross indecency for engaging in consensual sexual acts with up to four other adult men in his home, recorded on videotape. The European Court of Human Rights held that his prosecution and conviction violated Article 8, finding no pressing social need to...
February 4, 2026
A Turkish national living in Switzerland on a humanitarian residence permit sought to bring his son Ersin from Turkey for family reunification. Swiss authorities refused, citing insufficient means and inadequate care arrangements. The European Court of Human Rights found no violation of Article 8, holding Switzerland had not failed its...
January 19, 2026
Nigerian woman who entered UK illegally in 1990 had two children with a married British citizen. Court of Appeal considered the proportionality test for Article 8 appeals and held that while adjudicators cannot simply substitute their view for the Secretary of State's, removal would disproportionately interfere with the children's family...
January 18, 2026
A seven-year-old boy at an independent boarding school received three 'whacks' with a rubber-soled gym shoe as corporal punishment. His mother complained this violated his Convention rights. The Court held there was no violation of Articles 3, 8 or 13, finding the punishment did not reach the minimum severity threshold....
January 18, 2026
An uncle complained about being denied access to his nephew who was taken into care, and the absence of any legal mechanism to apply to court for access before the Children Act 1989. The case was struck out following a friendly settlement where the Government paid compensation and expressed regret....
January 18, 2026
An Algerian national married to a Swiss citizen had his residence permit refused renewal following a robbery conviction. The European Court of Human Rights found Switzerland violated Article 8, establishing guiding criteria for balancing family life rights against deportation for criminal offences. Facts The applicant, Mr Abdelouahab Boultif, an Algerian...
January 18, 2026
A Tunisian national who arrived in France aged 8 was deported following convictions including living on earnings of prostitution. The Court held by 7-2 that his deportation did not violate Article 8 ECHR, finding the measure proportionate given the seriousness of his offences despite his family ties in France. Facts...
January 18, 2026
A Moroccan father, divorced from his Dutch wife, was refused renewal of his residence permit and deported from the Netherlands, despite having regular contact with his young daughter born of the marriage. The European Court of Human Rights found a violation of Article 8, establishing that family life exists between...
January 18, 2026
An Algerian schizophrenic facing deportation from the UK claimed removal would breach his Convention rights due to risk of relapse without adequate treatment in Algeria. The Court found no violation of Articles 3, 8 or 13, holding the risks were speculative and the high threshold for Article 3 was not...
January 18, 2026
Mr Beldjoudi, born in France to Algerian parents, faced deportation despite living his entire life in France and being married to a French woman for over 20 years. The Court held that implementing the deportation order would violate Article 8, as it would disproportionately interfere with the couple's family life....
January 18, 2026
An Italian national who had lived in the UK since age 7 faced deportation following convictions for sexual abuse of his daughter. The Court of Appeal held that deportation was disproportionate given his lifelong residence in the UK, despite the serious nature of his offences, applying EU free movement and...
May 30, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 30, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 29, 2026
National Case Law Archive