European Court of Human Rights
6 October 2005
Facts
The applicant was serving a sentence of life imprisonment but was released from prison on licence. As a convicted prisoner, he was barred by law from voting in parliamentary and local elections.
Complaint
The applicant complained that the legislation was incompatible with the right to free elections guaranteed by Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
Court’s ruling
The Court explained that the right to vote guaranteed by the Convention was not absolute and could be limited. However, the Court emphasised that any limitations on the right to vote had to be imposed in pursuit of a legitimate aim and be proportionate to that aim. The Court accepted that the domestic legislation could be regarded as pursuing a legitimate aim. Regarding the proportionality of the voting ban, the Court noted that 48,000 prisoners were deprived of their right to vote in the United Kingdom and that the ban applied automatically to convicted prisoners irrespective of the length of their sentence, of the nature and gravity of their offence and their individual circumstances. Although Member States have a relatively wide margin of appreciation in this field due to the lack of a common European approach, the Court found that such a general, automatic and indiscriminate restriction on a vitally important right fell outside any acceptable margin of appreciation. The Court concluded that there was a violation of Article 3 of the Protocol No.1 to the Convention.