On 2 August 1984 at Strasbourg, the European Court of Human Rights delivered judgment in the
Malone case, which concerns the laws and practices in England and Wales allowing interception of
communications and “metering" of telephones by or on behalf of the police. The Court unanimously
held that there had been violation of Mr. James Malone's right to respect for his private life and his
correspondence, as guaranteed by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights1. The
Court further considered, by sixteen votes to two, that it was unnecessary in the circumstances to
examine Mr. Malone's complaint under Article 13 of the Convention (right to an effective remedy
before a national authority)