Rather, it held that if the franchise was to be removed, then the measure needed to be compatible with Article 3 of the First Protocol, thus putting the onus upon the UK to justify its departure from the principle of universal suffrage.
The UK lodged an appeal to the Grand Chamber, and on 6 October 2005, it found in favour of Hirst by a majority of twelve to five.
The British Government initially attempted to introduce legislation to give prisoners the right to vote.
[4] This was rejected by the British Parliament and the Government has repeatedly stated since then that prisoners will not be given the right to vote in spite of the ruling.
[7] Cameron also claimed that the concept of human rights was being "distorted" and "discredited" by the ECHR, because reasonable decisions made at a national level were not respected by the court.