Lawless v. Ireland (No. 3), No. 332/57, ECtHR (Chamber), 1 July 1961

Derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights in time of emergency. Deprivation of liberty of alleged terrorists without a prompt judicial control. Definition of public emergency pursuant to Article 15 ECHR.

Art. 5 ECHR
Art. 15 ECHR

1. Suspected of being a member of the IRA (Irish Republican Army), the applicant alleged that he had been held in a military detention camp in Ireland from July to December 1957 without judicial intervention. Although Article 5 ECHR might have been breached, the circumstances of the case allowed a derogation from the Convention under Article 15 ECHR. Specifically, the Court found the existence of a public emergency threatening the life of the nation at that time, and it considered that the measure taken was strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and consistent with Ireland’s other obligations under international law.

2. The concept of "public emergency" pursuant to Article 15, para. 1 ECHR refers to “an exceptional situation of crisis or emergency which affects the whole population and constitutes a threat to the organised life of the community of which the State is composed”.

It follows the definition of "public emergency" pursuant to Art. 15 ECHR given by the European Court of Human Rights in the French text of the judgment here analysed: “une situation de crise ou de danger exceptionnel et imminent qui affecte l’ensemble de la population et constitue une menace pour la vie organisée de la communauté composant l’Etat”. In the French text, which is the authentic text of the judgment, the notion of “imminent” danger is represented, that is not in the English version of the judgment. This difference has been highlighted in the case Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands v. Greece (“The Greek Case”), when the Sub-Commission to the European Commission of Human Rights clarified the definition of public emergency pursuant to Article 15 ECHR starting from what was established by the European Court of Human Rights in the case Lawless v. Ireland (N. 3). See paragraphs 112 and 113 of "The Greek Case".