42
JAMES AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUGDMENT
CONCURRING OPINION OF JUDGES BINDSCHEDLER-ROBERT,
GÖLCÜKLÜ, MATSCHER AND SPIELMANN (ARTICLE 13 OF THE
CONVENTION) (art. 13)
to be explained in greater detail in a future judgment, when the occasion
arises.
1. As we have already pointed out, the existing legislation in most of the
Contracting States supports a restrictive interpretation of the scope of
Article 13 (art. 13).
2. From the wording of Article 13 (art. 13) itself, when it refers to
violations committed by persons acting in an official capacity, it is also
permissible to infer that this provision has primarily in mind possible
violations of the Convention committed by entities belonging to the
executive or the judiciary.
It was reasoning along these lines which allowed us to agree with the
judgment also in respect of the finding under Article 13 (art. 13).
To conclude, we would stress that we are not at all convinced by the
argument that it would be inconsistent with the sovereignty of Parliament if
its Acts were subject to review by another national authority, since, on the
one hand, as a matter of international law, there is no longer any doubt as to
the State’s responsibility even for Acts passed by its legislature, and, on the
other hand, the legislation of a number of States provides for judicial control
of Acts of Parliament by a constitutional court.