The Strasbourg Standards of Mass Surveillance of Communications
The Strasbourg Standards of Mass Surveillance of Communications

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the standards governing mass surveillance of communications under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as developed in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It aims to identify, analyse, and systematise the Strasbourg standards binding the Contracting States in regulating mass surveillance of communications under the ECHR. The central research question is whether the Strasbourg case law provides a coherent and operational framework capable of reconciling national security imperatives with the effective protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. The analysis proceeds from doctrinal scholarship on mass surveillance, through an interpretative reading of the Convention, to a systematic assessment of the ECtHR’s jurisprudence, with cases selected for their role in shaping the scope, limits, and safeguards of bulk interception. The paper demonstrates that, under the ECHR, the ECtHR permits mass surveillance only conditionally and subject to strict safeguards. The analysis identifies five cumulative Strasbourg standards, articulated through corresponding safeguards, that structure the assessment of mass surveillance under the European Convention on Human Rights: legality, independent oversight, data protection safeguards, proportionality, and effective remedies. Rather than operating as isolated requirements, these standards function as interdependent elements of a coherent framework.

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