European Union court backs French ban on prison voting

Meanwhile the Government has welcomed a recommendation by the ECJ’s advocate general that the court rejects a case brought by the European Commission challenging the UK’s “right to reside” test which EU migrants must pass if they are to claim a few benefits.

And in a case not directly involving Britain, ECJ judges in Luxembourg upheld a French law that automatically deprived people convicted of serious offences of their right to vote.

Convicted murderer Thierry Delvigne claimed a ban on him voting in European Parliament elections violated his civil and political rights.

UK Independence Party Justice and Home Affairs spokeswoman Diane James MEP said, ” A blanket ban on votes for prisoners is the expressed will of the British parliament.

The ECJ ruling on prisoner voting rights comes after the Government has ignored a series of rulings by the European Court of Human Rights – an entirely separate body – that Britain’s blanket ban on prisoner voting is illegal. Prisoners’ rights should be something that lies exclusively with nation states.

Had judges ruled in favour of Mr Delvinge’s appeal it could have consequently outlawed all bans on prisoner voting to all European Union member states.

The Government immediately declared that Britain’s ban on prisoner voting would stay in place and remained “a matter for the UK Supreme Court and Parliament to determine”.

He added: “I’m very clear”.

“I haven’t transformed my opinion at all”, he was quoted saying, based on The Guardian.

Under the French system, the ban is applied to those sentenced to more than five years in prison.

Robert Oxley, of the campaign group Business for Britain, said the case amounted to a power-grab by the European Court of Justice over British law. What we have seen with this ruling is it removes blanket bans on all crimes so therefore opens up the legislation to “wriggle room”.

The ECJ ruled that “it is possible to maintain a ban” on voting in the European Parliamentary elections for people who have committed a “serious crime”.

The European Commission argues that the British process of checking whether claimants of child benefit and child tax credit are legally resident discriminates against foreign EU workers because British citizens are not checked in that way.

Any deprivation of that right by a state has to be proportionate and justified, and must take into account the nature and gravity of the criminal offence committed and the duration of the penalty.

The generally pro-European Cameron has always been opposed to giving prisoners the vote, and has previously said the idea makes him “physically ill”.

The European Court of Human Rights is an global court, but in Britain is often confused with Brussels.