The provision for the sale of the full electoral register to credit agencies under reg.114 Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 did not breach Protocol 1 Art.3 European Convention on Human Rights.Application for judicial review of reg.114 Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 SI 2001/341 (as amended by reg.15 Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 SI 2002/1871) which permitted the sale of the full electoral register to credit reference agencies in certain circumstances. The claimant ('R') submitted firstly that reg.114 was inconsistent with the decision in R (Robertson) v Wakefield MDC (2002) QB 1052 ('Robertson No.1') that: (i) the sale of the electoral register for direct marketing purposes without allowing individual electors to object was contrary to Art.8 of the European Convention on Human Rights; and (ii) Art.3 Protocol 1 was violated to the extent that the relevant regulations made the right to vote conditional on acquiescence in such sales. Secondly, R submitted that regardless of the decision in Robertson No.1, reg.114 was contrary to Protocol 1 Art.3.HELD: (1) The decision in Robertson No.1 was confined to the sale of the register to commercial concerns "for direct marketing purposes". Accordingly that decision did not apply in the present case. (2) Regulation 114 constituted, at most, a very limited interference with the right to vote and pursued a legitimate aim. The government's approach and conclusion to the sale of the full electoral register to commercial concerns, as demonstrated by their consultation paper and regulatory impact assessment, fell within the government's wide margin of appreciation. Regulation 114 struck a permissible balance between: (a) the public interest in the facilitation of credit and the control of fraud; and (b) the right to vote.Application dismissed.

[2003] EWHC 1760 (Admin)