Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
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Guide on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights Right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence Updated on 31 December 2020 Guide on Article 8 of the Convention – Right to respect for private and family life Publishers or organisations wishing to translate and/or reproduce all or part of this report in the form of a printed or electronic publication are invited to contact [email protected] for information on the authorisation procedure. If you wish to know which translations of the Case-Law Guides are currently under way, please see Pending translations. This Guide has been prepared under the authority of the Jurisconsult and does not bind the Court. It may be subject to editorial revision. This Guide was originally drafted in English. It is updated regularly and, most recently, on 31 December 2020. The Case-Law Guides are available for downloading at www.echr.coe.int (Case-law – Case-law anal- ysis – Case-law guides). For publication updates please follow the Court’s Twitter account at https://twitter.com/ECHR_CEDH. © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights, 2021 European Court of Human Rights 2/148 Last update: 31.12.2020 Guide on Article 8 of the Convention – Right to respect for private and family life Table of contents Note to readers ................................................................................................................................. 6 I. The structure of Article 8 ................................................................................................................ 7 A. The scope of Article 8 .............................................................................................................. 7 B. Should the case be assessed from the perspective of a negative or positive obligation? .......... 8 C. In the case of a negative obligation, was the interference conducted “in accordance with the law”? ............................................................................................................................. 10 D. Does the interference further a legitimate aim? .................................................................... 11 E. Is the interference “necessary in a democratic society”? ........................................................ 12 F. Relation between Article 8 and other provisions of the Convention and its Protocols............. 13 1. Private and family life ...................................................................................................... 13 2. Home and correspondence .............................................................................................. 18 II. Private life ................................................................................................................................... 21 A. Sphere of private life ............................................................................................................. 21 1. Applicability in general ..................................................................................................... 21 2. Professional and business activities.................................................................................. 23 B. Physical, psychological or moral integrity ............................................................................... 26 1. Victims of violence ........................................................................................................... 27 2. Reproductive rights.......................................................................................................... 28 3. Forced medical treatment and compulsory medical procedures ...................................... 30 4. Mental illness .................................................................................................................. 31 5. Health care and treatment ............................................................................................... 32 6. End of life issues .............................................................................................................. 34 7. Disability issues ................................................................................................................ 35 8. Issues concerning burial and deceased persons ............................................................... 35 9. Environmental issues ....................................................................................................... 37 10. Sexual orientation and sexual life ................................................................................... 38 C. Privacy ................................................................................................................................... 39 1. Right to one’s image and photographs; the publishing of photos, images, and articles ..... 40 2. Protection of individual reputation; defamation .............................................................. 41 3. Data protection ............................................................................................................... 45 4. Right to access personal information ............................................................................... 45 5. Information about one’s health ....................................................................................... 46 6. File or data gathering by security services or other organs of the State ............................ 47 7. Police surveillance ........................................................................................................... 49 8. Stop and search police powers ......................................................................................... 50 9. Home visits, searches and seizures................................................................................... 51 10. Lawyer-client relationship .............................................................................................. 51 11. Privacy during detention and imprisonment .................................................................. 52 D. Identity and autonomy .......................................................................................................... 53 1. Right to personal development and autonomy ................................................................ 53 European Court of Human Rights 3/148 Last update: 31.12.2020 Guide on Article 8 of the Convention – Right to respect for private and family life 2. Right to discover one’s origins ......................................................................................... 54 3. Legal parent-child relationship ......................................................................................... 55 4. Religious and philosophical convictions............................................................................ 56 5. Desired appearance ......................................................................................................... 56 6. Right to a name/identity documents ................................................................................ 56 7. Gender identity................................................................................................................ 57 8. Right to ethnic identity .................................................................................................... 59 9. Statelessness, citizenship and residence .......................................................................... 61 10. Deportation and expulsion decisions.............................................................................. 62 11. Marital and parental status ............................................................................................ 63 III. Family life ................................................................................................................................... 64 A. Definition of family life and the meaning of family ................................................................. 64 B. Procedural obligation ............................................................................................................ 65 C. Margin of appreciation in relation to family life ..................................................................... 65 D. Sphere of application of family life ........................................................................................ 66 1. Couples ............................................................................................................................ 66 2. Parents ............................................................................................................................ 68 3. Children ........................................................................................................................... 69 4. Other family relationships ................................................................................................ 79 5. Immigration and expulsion .............................................................................................. 82 6. Material interests ............................................................................................................ 86 7. Testimonial privilege ........................................................................................................ 87 IV. Home ......................................................................................................................................... 88 A. General points ......................................................................................................................