United Kingdom (1995), European Court of Human Rights

United Kingdom (1995), European Court of Human Rights

SW v United Kingdom (A/355-B):
(1996) 21 E.H.R.R. 363, *363

The applicants complained that there had been a violation of Article 7(1) of the ECHR in that they had been found guilty of the crime of marital rape even though at the time they had committed the act, that act did not constitute a crime. However, the Court held that the Convention had not been violated.

“It seems to us that where the common law rule no longer even remotely represents what is the true position of a wife in present day society, the duty of the court is to take steps to alter the rule if it can legitimately do so in the light of any relevant parliamentary enactment…. the abandonment of the unacceptable idea of a husband being immune against prosecution for rape of his wife was in conformity not only with a civilized concept of marriage but also, and above all, with the fundamental objectives of the Convention, the very essence of which is respect for human dignity and human freedom. ” (Quoted form Original Judgment)

Print this post