The consequentialist reasoning of the security State and the contemporary interpretation of Article 2 by the European Court of Human Rights: Eroding the lethal force principles in policing operations.

The main premise of this article is an examination of the right to life during policing operations. The article will focus on the international and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) standards. One of the Courts seminal cases was that of McCann v United Kingdom. This case set down strict standards on the right to life during policing operations. The article will show that these strict standards have been eroded with the evolution of terrorism in Europe. It will be shown that the ECtHR has facilitated this erosion by applying a consequentialist reasoning to its most recent judgments. It will also be advanced that these measures, adopted to tackle contemporary terrorism, have blurred the lines between policing and the military and this could potentially be exacerbated by the European Union’s project to harmonise policing. The article will posit that the international standards on the right to life provide a framework which is applicable to any situation where there is the potential for the use of lethal force by the police. These standards do not require special measures which place the right to life as ancillary to the objectives of the State.