Council of Europe. Human rights / constitutional. Treaty
ECHR Art 8Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights), Article 8
§1Summary
- Synopsis
Article 8 protects respect for private and family life, home and correspondence. A state may interfere only where the interference is in accordance with the law, pursues a listed legitimate aim and is necessary in a democratic society. The Strasbourg Court enforces it through binding judgments against the 46 member states.
- Key themes
- Unique features
It has a large body of case law on surveillance and data retention (e.g. S. and Marper, Big Brother Watch, Centrum för Rättvisa). Article 8 has been read to include data protection, and it informs the interpretation of the EU Charter (Art 52(3)).
- SaaS relevance
It binds states only, but it drives national law on employee monitoring, surveillance and data retention that affects SaaS providers.
§2Obligations
- Breach notification
- None
- DPO
- No
- Cross-border transfers
- None
- Maximum penalty
- Just satisfaction awarded against states
§3Dates
- Key dates
- Adopted
- In force
- ETS No. 005; signed in Rome on 1950-11-04; in force 1953-09-03
§4Text and authority
- Text
- Authoritative text echr.coe.int
- Authority
- European Court of Human Rights
§5Where it applies
- Members of the body
Membership-based — check ratification status. Membership of Council of Europe does not mean a state has signed or ratified this instrument.
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
§6Sources and verification
- Sources consulted
- Verification
High confidence.
The CIPP/E project holds a copy (1950ECHR.pdf). Russia ceased to be a party on 2022-09-16.