''Matthews v United Kingdom'' is a human rights case (18 February 1999) on the right to vote, under the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...

Gibraltarians The Gibraltarians ( Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterrane ...

, although

EU citizen European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...

s under the British Treaty of Accession, were unable to vote in elections for the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

is bound by EU laws and has implemented EU legislation fully and promptly, but Gibraltarians and other EU nationals resident in Gibraltar had been denied the vote in

elections to the European Parliament Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until ...

. The reason given was that the British Government had failed to make the necessary legal arrangements and declined to do so. In 1998 Lord Bethell moved an amendment to the European Parliamentary Elections Bill in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, to make a provision for the right to vote for residents of Gibraltar, but it was defeated by the Labour Government, supported by the Liberal Democrats. The Gibraltar Self-Determination Group (SDGG) took the case to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

, and won a landmark decision. The applicant, Denise Matthews, is a

British citizen British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

and resident of Gibraltar. In April 1994 she applied to be registered as a voter in the elections to the European Parliament. She was told that under the terms of the EC Act on Direct Elections of 1976 Gibraltar was not included in the franchise for those elections. The applicant claimed that the absence of elections in Gibraltar to the European Parliament was in violation of her right to participate in elections to choose the legislature under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1. She also alleged a violation of Article 14 on the ground that she was entitled to vote in European Parliament elections anywhere in the European Union where she lived except in Gibraltar. It was common ground that Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 applied in Gibraltar. As a consequence of this decision in 1999 and after consultation by the Electoral Commission, Gibraltar was included in the South West England constituency for the European Parliament election in 2004. Spain took a complaint about Gibraltar participating in EU elections to the European Court of Justice, the European Union's high court, but this was unsuccessful.Judgment of the European Court of Justice: ''Spain v United Kingdom'' (C-145/04)
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References

External links

Press release on the judgement
(18 February 1999), archived fro

on 22 December 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews V United Kingdom European Court of Human Rights cases involving the United Kingdom Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights Gibraltar and the European Union 1999 in case law 1999 in British law

See also

References

External links