Al-Jedda v. the United Kingdom, No. 27021/08, ECtHR (Grand Chamber), 7 July 2011

Terrorism. Right to liberty and security. Detention without a charge. Violation of art. 5 ECHR. 

Art. 5 ECHR

1. The United Kingdom violated art. 5 ECHR by arresting and detaining a suspect terrorist for 3 years without any formal charge.

2. The detention without a charge cannot be considered justified by the Resolution of the United Nations Security Council no. 1546/2004. As a matter of fact, the obligations arising from UN Security Council's resolutions cannot overstep the commitments of the United Kingdom pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights. 

In 2007, the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords had ruled on the case, holding that Al-Jedda's detention was lawful since it was authorized by the United Nations Security Council Resolution no. 1546/2004. 

House of Lords, Appellate Committee, R (on the application of Al-Jedda) (FC) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for Defence (Respondent), [2007] UKHL 58, 12 December 20017