McCann v. United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
McCann and others v United Kingdom (21 ECHR 97 GC) is a legal case that was tried before the European Court of Human Rights
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...

 (ECHR) regarding a breach of Article 2 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...

 by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Facts

Intelligence suggested a team of known IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...

 members were planning a bombing in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

. One of the team was a known explosives expert whilst the others had been linked as well as convicted for various explosive and terrorist related activities. During surveillance, the team crossed the border from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 with no resistance from the authorities and subsequently parked a car in a crowded place. In previous times, the IRA had employed remote control detonators and intelligence suggested the car was rigged with explosives whilst the suspects may have the remote detonator.

A team of highly trained SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...

 soldiers was sent to intercept and arrest them on conspiracy charges. The team, in accordance with their training, shot and killed the suspects which at the time was justified by the teams to be in response to the suspects reaching for what they believed where the detonators. The inquest into the shootings found no breach of Article 2 of the Gibraltar constitution. At the time of the shootings the suspects had neither a detonator nor any explosives. A car was however found registered under one of the suspects names which had been laced with explosive devices of 'ticking time bomb' type and not remote detonators. It appeared that the suspects were on a reconnaissance-mission and had parked their car to save a space for the actual car containing the explosives.

Findings

The case went to the ECHR. The court at the time had to consider whether the shooting was disproportionate to the aims to be achieved by the state in apprehending the suspects and defending the citizens of Gibraltar from unlawful violence. The court basically ruled that the actions of the soldiers at the time met the requirement of absolute necessity because they believed the suspects where reaching for detonators which intelligence and superiors had specifically warned them against. The Breach of Article 2 was found in the planning by the Authorities in that it was not 'strictly proportionate' to the objectives to be achieved; saving lives. Firstly, the court found a breach in the failure to arrest the suspects at the border so as to regard the life of both citizens and the suspects. Secondly, the court found that the Authorities did not consider the correctness of the intelligence (which turned out to be wrong) and, thirdly, the use of SAS soldiers - combat teams trained to shoot to kill - also amounted to a procedural failure in planning the mission which breached article 2.

The court rejected that the UK had specifically planned an execution mission and not an arrest mission.

Dissenting judges Ryssdal
Rolv Ryssdal
Rolv Einar Rasmussen Ryssdal was a Norwegian judge.From 1969 to 1984 he was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court...

, Bernhardt, Thór Vilhjálmsson, Gölcüklü, Palm, Pekkanen, Sir John Freeland, Baka and Jambrek warned however against the benefits of hindsight, especially considering the situation at the time and the large number of innocent lives at risk.

External links

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