Laskey, Jaggard and Brown v. United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Laskey, Jaggard and Brown v United Kingdom is a case that was argued before the European Court of Human Rights
, which ruled in January 1999, that no violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
occurred.
sexual encounters were obtained by the police. These encounters involved the applicants and possibly as many as forty-four other men. On the basis of their violent sadomasochistic actions, the men were convicted for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. In R v Brown
, the House of Lords upheld their judgement, finding that consent was not a defence to their actions in these circumstances. The applicants believed that a violation of Article 8
had occurred because the activities were consensual, conducted in a private setting, and none of the participants required medical attention.
unanimously ruled that no violation of Article 8
occurred because the amount of physical or psychological harm that the law allows between any two people, even consenting adults, is to be determined by the State
the individuals live in, as it is the State's responsibility to balance the concerns of public health
and well-being with the amount of control a State should be allowed to exercise over its citizens.
More specifically, the Court ruled that the reasons that the police gave for confiscating the tapes were valid, and that the action was justified granted the number of charges that were brought against the applicants. The ruling also questioned whether or not the tapes could be considered part of the applicants' private lives, because so many people were involved in the footage, as well as because the applicants made and distributed the recordings in the first place.
The Court
stressed that the ruling in Laskey, Jaggard and Brown v United Kingdom should be seen as distinct from that in Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
, an earlier, similar case relating to sexual behavior between consenting adults.
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, which ruled in January 1999, that no violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
occurred.
Facts
During a routine police investigation, several video tapes of homosexual, sado-masochisticBDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
sexual encounters were obtained by the police. These encounters involved the applicants and possibly as many as forty-four other men. On the basis of their violent sadomasochistic actions, the men were convicted for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. In R v Brown
R v Brown
R v Brown [1994] 1 AC 212 is a House of Lords judgment in which a group of men were convicted for their involvement in consensual sadomasochistic sexual acts over a 10 year period. They were convicted of "unlawful and malicious wounding" and "assault occasioning actual bodily harm" contrary to...
, the House of Lords upheld their judgement, finding that consent was not a defence to their actions in these circumstances. The applicants believed that a violation of Article 8
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
had occurred because the activities were consensual, conducted in a private setting, and none of the participants required medical attention.
Judgment
The European Court of Human RightsEuropean Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
unanimously ruled that no violation of Article 8
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
occurred because the amount of physical or psychological harm that the law allows between any two people, even consenting adults, is to be determined by the State
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
the individuals live in, as it is the State's responsibility to balance the concerns of public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
and well-being with the amount of control a State should be allowed to exercise over its citizens.
More specifically, the Court ruled that the reasons that the police gave for confiscating the tapes were valid, and that the action was justified granted the number of charges that were brought against the applicants. The ruling also questioned whether or not the tapes could be considered part of the applicants' private lives, because so many people were involved in the footage, as well as because the applicants made and distributed the recordings in the first place.
The Court
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
stressed that the ruling in Laskey, Jaggard and Brown v United Kingdom should be seen as distinct from that in Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
Dudgeon v the United Kingdom was a European Court of Human Rights case, which held that legislation passed in the nineteenth century to criminalise male homosexual acts in England, Wales and Ireland - in 1980, still in force in Northern Ireland - violated the European Convention on Human Rights...
, an earlier, similar case relating to sexual behavior between consenting adults.
Related case
- K. A. and A. D. v. Belgium (17.2.2005, applications 42758/98 and 45558/99)
- ADT v UK 21.7.2000