Lawless v. Republic of Ireland (Lawless Case)
European Court of Human Rights
[1961] European Court of Human Rights, Ser. A. no. 1
Gerard Lawless (plaintiff), a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), was among several IRA members the Republic of Ireland (defendant) detained without trial in an internment camp amid a campaign of IRA violence seeking independence from the United Kingdom; the government defended the detentions as necessary to preserve public peace and order. Lawless brought a case before the European Court of Human Rights, alleging the detention without trial violated his fundamental rights under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which permitted derogation from its guaranteed rights during war or public emergency.
Whether a contracting government may, in case of war or public emergency threatening the life of the nation, take measures derogating from its obligations under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.