Write a Legal Case Review of the Case Lambert and Others v France: Legal Case Review Assignment, DCU University,

Question: Write a Legal Case Review of the Case Lambert and Others v France [2015].

A CASE OF LAMBERT AND OTHERS v. FRANCE

(Application no. 46043/14)

JUDGMENT

This version was rectified on 25 June 2015

under Rule 81 of the Rules of Court.

STRASBOURG

5 June 2015

This judgment is final.

In the case of Lambert and Others v. France,

The European Court of Human Rights, sitting as a Grand Chamber composed of:

Dean Spielmann, President,
Guido Raimondi,
Mark Villiger,
Isabelle Berro,
Khanlar Hajiyev,
Ján Šikuta,
George Nicolaou,
Nona Tsotsoria,
Vincent A. De Gaetano,
Angelika Nußberger,
Linos-Alexandre Siciliano’s,
Erik Møse,
André Potocki,
Helena Jäderblom,
Aleš Pejchal,
Valeriu Griţco,
Egidijus Kūris, judges,
and Erik Friberg, Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 7 January and 23 April 2015,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on the last-mentioned date:

PROCEDURE

1. The case originated in an application (no. 46043/14) against the French Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by four French nationals, Mr Pierre Lambert, Mrs Viviane Lambert, Mr David Philippon and Mrs Anne Tuarze (“the applicants”), on 23 June 2014.
2. The applicants were represented by Mr J. Paillot, a lawyer practising in Strasbourg, and Mr J. Triomphe, a lawyer practising in Paris. The French Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr F. Alabrune, Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.
3. The applicants alleged, in particular, that the withdrawal of Vincent Lambert’s artificial nutrition and hydration would be in breach of the State’s obligations under Article 2 of the Convention, that it would constitute ill-treatment amounting to torture within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention and would infringe his physical integrity, in breach of Article 8 of the Convention.
4. The application was assigned to the Fifth Section of the Court (Rule 52 § 1 of the Rules of Court). On 24 June 2014, the relevant Chamber decided to apply Rule 39, to give notice of the application to the Government and to grant it a priority.
5. On 4 November 2014 a Chamber of the Fifth Section composed of Mark Villiger, President, Angelika Nußberger, Boštjan M. Zupančič, Vincent A. De Gaetano, André Potocki, Helena Jäderblom and Aleš Pejchal, judges, and Stephen Phillips, Section Registrar, relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber, neither of the parties having objected to relinquishment (Article 30 of the Convention and Rule 72).
6. The composition of the Grand Chamber was determined according to the provisions of Article 26 §§ 4 and 5 of the Convention and Rule 24.
7. The applicants and the Government each filed observations on the admissibility and merits of the case.
8. Observations were also received from Rachel Lambert, François Lambert and Marie‑Geneviève Lambert, the wife, nephew and half-sister respectively of Vincent Lambert, and from the National Union of Associations of Head Injury and Brain Damage Victims’ Families, the association Amréso-Bethel and the Human Rights Clinic of the International Institute of Human Rights, to all of whom the President had given leave to intervene as third parties in the written procedure (Article 36 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 44 § 3 (a)). Rachel Lambert, François Lambert and Marie‑Geneviève Lambert were also given leave to take part in the hearing.
9. A hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 7 January 2015 (Rule 59 § 3).