ABSTRACT
The right to life is enshrined by Article 2 ECHR and is presented as one “of the essential articles of the Convention which protects one of the fundamental core values of democratic societies and of the Council of Europe”. More generally, the ECtHR has had on several occasions the opportunity to recall “that the first sentence of Article 2 § 1 obliges the State not only to refrain from causing death voluntarily, but also to take the necessary measures to protect the lives of persons under its jurisdiction”. Detainees are, however, placed in a special position vis-à-vis this provision: while everyone obviously enjoys the right to life, including those who are deprived of their liberty, Article 2 allows the authorities of the State to inflict death, if it results “from a recourse to force made absolutely necessary”, in particular to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained, or to punish, in accordance with the law, a riot, insurrection or mutiny in a penal institution. However, these provisions are only exceptions to the general prohibition on public authorities to inflict death. Indeed, beyond any lethal action, national authorities have a general duty to protect persons deprived of their liberty, in particular suicidal prisoners. The “necessary measures” imposed on the competent authorities constitute what is called in ECtHR case law “positive obligations”, that is to say obligations to act in order not to violate the very substance of a protected right, in this case to avoid deaths in detention. Following a casuistic approach, the ECtHR will therefore examine whether the measures taken to prevent the death of a detainee were sufficiently effective under Article 2. More precisely, ECtHR jurisprudence requires states to adopt effective measures to not only protect prisoners “against themselves” but also against their co-prisoners (I). ECtHR case law also seeks to enforce adequate standards of care “in order to prevent fatal outcomes” (II). Finally, the ECtHR sets a number of requirements and safeguards aimed at minimising the use of lethal force in prison (III).
