Guide on Article 8 of the Convention – Right to respect for private and family life
‘Gillberg exclusionary principle’; Evers v. Germany, § 55). In sum, when the negative effects complained of are limited to the consequences of the unlawful conduct which were foreseeable by the applicant, Article 8 cannot be relied upon to allege that such negative effects encroach upon private life (compare, Ballıktaş Bingöllü v. Turkey, § 54). 88. In sum, there is a general acknowledgment in the Court’s case-law under Article 8 of the importance of privacy and the values to which it relates. These values include, among others, wellbeing and dignity (Beizaras and Levickas v. Lithuania, § 117), personality development (Von Hannover v. Germany (no. 2) [GC], § 95) or the right to self-determination (Pretty v. the United Kingdom, § 61; ), physical (J.L. v. Italy, § 118) and psychological integrity (Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic [GC], § 261; Söderman v. Sweden, [GC], § 80), relations with other human beings (Paradiso and Campanelli v. Italy [GC], § 159, Couderc and Hachette Filipacchi Associés v. France [GC], § 83), and the right to respect for the decisions both to have and not to have a child ( A, B and C v. Ireland [GC], § 212); aspects of social identity (Mikulić v. Croatia, § 53, including the emotional bonds created and developed between an adult and a child in situations other than the classic situations of kinship, Jessica Marchi v. Italy, § 62), the protection of personal data 15 (M.L. and W.W. v. Germany, § 87; Liebscher v. Austria, § 31, including data published by the Tax Authority: L.B. v. Hungary, § 23) and a person’s image (Reklos and Davourlis v. Greece, § 38). It also covers personal information which individuals can legitimately expect should not be published without their consent (L.B. v. Hungary, § 21) and may extend to certain situations after death (Polat v. Austria, § 48 and the references therein). 89. Given the very wide range of issues which private life encompasses, cases falling under this notion have been grouped into three broad categories (sometimes overlapping) to provide some means of categorisation, namely: (i) a person’s physical, psychological or moral integrity, (ii) his privacy and (iii) his identity and autonomy. These categories will be considered in greater detail below.
2. Professional and business activities 90. Since Article 8 guarantees the right to a “private social life”, it may, under certain circumstances, include professional activities (Fernández Martínez v. Spain [GC], § 110; Bărbulescu v. Romania [GC], § 71; Antović and Mirković v. Montenegro, § 42; Denisov v. Ukraine [GC], §§ 100 with further references therein and López Ribalda and Others v. Spain [GC], §§ 92-95), and commercial activities (Satakunnan Markkinapörssi Oy and Satamedia Oy v. Finland [GC], § 130). 91. While no general right to employment or to the renewal of a fixed-term contract, right of access to the civil service or a right to choose a particular profession, can be derived from Article 8, the notion of “private life” does not exclude, in principle, activities of a professional or business nature (Bărbulescu v. Romania [GC], § 71; Jankauskas v. Lithuania (no. 2), § 56-57; Fernández Martínez v. Spain [GC], §§ 109-110). Indeed, private life encompasses the right for an individual to form and develop relationships with other human beings, including relationships of a professional or business nature (C. v. Belgium, § 25; Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine, § 165). It is, after all, in the course of their working lives that the majority of people have a significant opportunity of developing relationships with the outside world (Niemietz v. Germany, § 29; Bărbulescu v. Romania [GC], § 71 and references cited therein; Antović and Mirković v. Montenegro, § 42) 16.
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See the Guide on Data protection. See the chapter on Correspondence of private individuals, professionals and companies.
European Court of Human Rights
26/161
Last update: 31.08.2021
