The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that it is lawful for member states to maintain an indefinite voting ban on prisoners where this is proportionate to the offence i.e. convicted of a serious offence.
The case was taken by a French national, Thierry Delvigne, who had been convicted of a serious crime and sentenced to five years in prison in France in 1988 and was thus permanently prohibited from voting, in accordance with the law in force in France at that time. The French permanent ban on voting for persons convicted of serious crimes was repealed in 1994, but does not apply retrospectively to convictions delivered before the new law had entered into force. This prompted Mr Delvigne to challenge the legality of a member state imposing an indefinite ban on the exercise of fundamental civil and political rights for certain persons, with specific reference to voting in the European Parliament elections.
In its judgment issued on 6 October 2015, the ECJ found that the deprivation of the right to vote constitutes a breach of rights guaranteed under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. However, the Court noted that such a limitation may be imposed provided that it is proportionate. Taking into account the nature and gravity of the offence committed and duration of the penalty imposed, the Court found that the ban was proportionate. The Court concluded that it is lawful for a Member State to maintain an indefinite ban which precludes persons convicted of a serious crime from voting in elections to the European Parliament.
The ruling has implications for Britain and its current policy denying all prisoners the right to vote. The British government has yet to comply with a separate 2005 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) which found that a blanket voting ban on all prisoners amounted to a breach of human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Following the enactment of the Electoral (Amendment) Act in 2006, there are procedures in place enabling prisoners in Ireland to vote by post.
Click here to read the full Delvigne judgment.
Click here to read the 2005 ECtHR Hirst judgment on UK blanket ban on prisoner voting.