WIEDER AND GUARNIERI v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
status, it did not consider that the four unrepresented complainants (see
paragraph 14 above) had established locus.
22. As to the matter of jurisdiction, the complainants accepted that the
issue could be determined under Article 8 and that Article 10 added nothing
to their argument. The IPT noted that a State’s competence under Article 1 of
the Convention was primarily territorial and the exceptions so far recognised
by the Court concerned acts of diplomatic and consular agents present on
foreign territory, the exercise of control and authority over an individual
outside a Contracting State’s territory, and the exercise of effective control of
an area outside a Contracting State’s territory (see Al-Skeini and Others
v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 55721/07, §§ 133-142, ECHR 2011).
Therefore, in the IPT’s view, a Contracting State owed no obligation under
Article 8 of the Convention to persons both of whom were situated outside its
territory in respect of electronic communications between them which passed
through that State. Furthermore, it was not persuaded that a privacy right was
a right of action present in the jurisdiction and to find otherwise would be to
extend the bounds of the domestic courts’ jurisdiction under Article 8 of the
Convention.
23. Consequently, the IPT dismissed the claims of Mr Guarnieri and
Mr Wieder by reference to the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA”) on the
ground that it had no jurisdiction to examine them. It also dismissed the
claims of the three unrepresented complainants who were resident in the
United States of America. It accepted, however, that the Government had
itself acknowledged that any claims made otherwise than by reference to the
HRA could not be resisted on this basis.
24. In light of its findings, the IPT directed inquiries in respect of the six
represented applicants, with the exception of the HRA claims by
Mr Guarnieri and Mr Wieder, and in respect of any claim by Mr Wieder
relating to the receipt of intelligence from the NSA. It also directed that a
copy of its judgment be sent to all other complainants, notifying those who
were not resident in the United Kingdom that their HRA claims were
dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Finally, it indicated that the complainants
resident in the United Kingdom, and the complainants not resident in the
United Kingdom in respect of their non-HRA claims, would be notified that
their claims would be dismissed as unsustainable pursuant to section 68(4) of
RIPA if it did not receive further submissions within twenty-eight days of the
date of dispatch of the judgment.
F. Subsequent events
25. On 12 September 2016 the IPT notified the representatives of
Mr Guarnieri that it had carefully considered his domestic law complaints and
made no determination in his favour. According to the letter:
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