In Scoppola v. Italy (no.3), the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held that member states must allow for some prisoners to vote and there cannot be an indiscriminate ban, however states have a wide margin of appreciation in deciding which prisoners can vote. In an earlier case, Hirst (no.2) v. the United Kingdom, it had been held that general, automatic and indiscriminate disenfranchisement of all serving prisoners, irrespective of the nature or gravity of their offences, was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court in Scoppola reaffirmed this principle, but simultaneously ruled that it is up to member states to decide how to remove such indiscriminate bans and how to decide which prisoners will not be able to vote.
The Grand Chamber reversed the earlier ruling in the Scoppola case on the basis that as some prisoners are allowed to vote, the ban was not "automatic and indiscriminate". It held that “in the circumstances of the present case, the restrictions imposed on the applicant’s right to vote did not "thwart the free expression of the people in the choice of the legislature", and maintained "the integrity and effectiveness of an electoral procedure aimed at identifying the will of the people through universal suffrage". The margin of appreciation afforded to the respondent Government in this sphere had therefore not been overstepped.
The UK had intervened in Scoppola, and argued for a retreat from the Hirst (no.2) judgment. However, the court held that, “it does not appear…that anything has occurred or changed at the European and Convention levels since the Hirst (no.2) judgment that might lend support to the suggestion that the principles set froth should be re-examined”. The Scoppola judgment has great relevance for the UK as the court made it clear that the UK government now has six months to bring forth legislative proposals to end the blanket disenfranchisement of prisoners.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has made statements in Parliament suggesting that he will not enforce the ECtHR's decision. In 2011 the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to retain the ban on prisoner voting.
Click here to read the judgment.
Click here to read an article in the Guardian on the case, and click here to read an article from the Economist on the case.