Necessary in a democratic society

"Necessary in a democratic society" is a test found in Articles 8–11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides that the state may impose restrictions of these rights only if such restrictions are "necessary in a democratic society"[1] and proportional to the legitimate aims enumerated in each article.[2] According to the Council of Europe's handbook on the subject, the phrase is "arguably one of the most important clauses in the entire Convention".[3] Indeed, the Court has itself written that "the concept of a democratic society ... prevails throughout the Convention".[4] The purpose of making such claims justiciable is to ensure that the restriction is actually necessary, rather than enacted for political expediency, which is not allowed.[3] Articles 8–11 of the convention are those that protect right to family life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of association respectively. Along with the other tests which are applied to these articles, the restrictions on Articles 8–11 have been described as "vast limitations", in contrast to American law which recognizes nearly unlimited right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment.[5]

  1. ^ Zysset, Alain (2016). "Searching for the Legitimacy of the European Court of Human Rights: The Neglected Role of 'Democratic Society'" (PDF). Global Constitutionalism. 5 (1): 16–47. doi:10.1017/S2045381716000022. S2CID 155383201.; Tajadura Tejada, Javier (2012). "La doctrine de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme sur l'interdiction des partis politiques". Revue française de droit constitutionnel. 90 (2): 339. doi:10.3917/rfdc.090.0339.; Zand, Joseph (2017). "The Concept of Democracy and the European Convention on Human Rights". University of Baltimore Journal of International Law. 5 (2). ISSN 2471-6723.; Pounder, C. N. M. (2008). "Nine principles for assessing whether privacy is protected in a surveillance society". Identity in the Information Society. 1 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1007/s12394-008-0002-2.; Arai-Takahashi, Yutaka (2002). "Necessary in a democratic society". The Margin of Appreciation Doctrine and the Principle of Proportionality in the Jurisprudence of the ECHR. Intersentia nv. pp. 11–. ISBN 978-90-5095-195-1.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference improve was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Greer, Steven (1997). The exceptions to Articles 8 to 11 of the European Conventionon Human Rights (PDF). Human Rights Files. Council of Europe. ISBN 9287133735.
  4. ^ Lingens v. Austria; Bioy, Xavier (2012). "La protection renforcée de la liberté d'expression politique dans le contexte de la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme". Les Cahiers de droit (in French). 53 (4): 739–760. doi:10.7202/1013005ar. ISSN 0007-974X.
  5. ^ Tsakyrakis, S. (2009). "Proportionality: An assault on human rights?". International Journal of Constitutional Law. 7 (3): 468–493. doi:10.1093/icon/mop011.