The purpose of the right to liberty under the ECHR, Article 5

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recently held there to be no infringement of the right to liberty under the ECHR, Article 5 in the case of Austin v United Kingdom (2012) app.no.39692/09 (hereafter ‘Austin (ECtHR)’). This will come as a relief to sections of the law enforcement communities across the Council of Europe member states as well as being a vindication of the outcome if not the exact reasoning of the House of Lords (HL) in Austin v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2009] UKHL 5 (hereafter ‘Austin (HL)’). This analysis will present the facts and reasoning of the domestic judgments and that of the ECtHR before arguing that the judgements err in their application of the law and set a dangerous and needless precedent.