Halford v. United Kingdom
European Court of Human Rights
Case No. 73/1996/692/884 (1997)
- Written by Miller Jozwiak, JD
Facts
Alison Halford (plaintiff) was an assistant chief constable at a police department in the United Kingdom (department) (defendant). In that position, Halford had access to two office telephones, both of which were part of an internal network outside of the public network. Halford was told of no restrictions on phone use and received no notice that the phones may be monitored. Halford brought a sex-discrimination claim against the police department. While those proceedings were ongoing, Halford learned that the police department had allegedly intercepted her calls on the phone lines. Halford then raised these concerns before a domestic court. Eventually, Halford brought a claim under the European Convention on Human Rights, claiming that the alleged wiretapping had violated her rights under Article 8. Under Article 8, individuals had a right to respect for their private life and correspondence unless governmental interference with that right was (among other things) in accordance with law. The government responded that the alleged interference did not interfere with Halford’s private life because the phones in question were office phones.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning ()
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