Analysing the Prisoner Voting Saga and the British Challenge to Strasbourg

This article examines the development of the prisoner voting saga concerning the UK and Strasbourg, setting it in the context of the strained relationship existing between the former and the latter in recent years. It examines and offers a critique of the relevant Strasbourg jurisprudence, commencing with the Grand Chamber judgment in Hirst v United Kingdom No 2. It discusses the ‘brinkmanship’ that ensued between Strasbourg and the UK as regards the enforcement of that judgment, and how Strasbourg responded via a further Grand Chamber judgment (Scoppola v Italy No 3). The reaction to that judgment is contextualised by a detailed examination of why the relationship between the UK and Strasbourg has been a difficult one recently, at least from the former’s perspective. These issues are then reflected upon in a final section.