Ulyanov v Ukraine

In Ulyanov v Ukraine (ECHR Case 16472/04) the Ukrainian tax authorities were investigating a company (K) which they suspected of tax evasion. A district court ordered the seizure of certain documents belonging to K which were in the possession of its lawyer (U). In March 2002 tax police officers entered U’s offices searched him and accompanied him to the tax office. Subsequently the officers also searched U’s home and offices. U subsequently lodged a complaint with the ECHR contending that the searches had been a breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR rejected the application holding that the evidence did not ‘disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention’.

Why it matters: Article 8 of the European Convention guarantees the right to ‘respect for private life’ but this does...