All local authorities sell their electoral registers for commercial use but not many people know this

Solicitor Andrew Lockley

Mr Robertson, who is unwell, was not present for the judgement - the first time that the issue of commercial access to public registers has been examined by the courts.

His lawyers said that the case would affect every person of voting age, every local authority and a number of government departments.

Solicitor Andrew Lockley said: "All local authorities sell their electoral registers for commercial use but not many people know this.

"Mr Robertson objected to this and has drawn attention to the fact that the democratic right to vote is conditional, rather than absolute.

'Mutual benefits'

"Mr Robertson's victory shows that the Human Rights Act can protect all the citizens of this country and is very much alive and well in spite of doubts recently expressed."

The question of what orders should be made and a possible application by the government for permission to appeal will be resolved at another hearing next Tuesday.

The government had argued that there was a legitimate purpose in providing commercial concerns with general access to the register.

It said the benefits resulting from such disclosure were enjoyed both by consumers and suppliers and hence by the economy and the community generally.

But Mr Justice Kay said that selling the register without affording individual electors a right of objection was a disproportionate way in which to give effect to the legitimate objective in question.

"This is particularly so in view of the implications of technological advance.

"So far as I can see, no voices are being raised in opposition to this analysis apart from those representing the commercial concerns in question. The evidence is really all one way."

Immediate impact

The judge also found that local authorities had been selling registers without following the relevant EU rules, which the government failed to enact fully in the 1998 Data Protection Act.

He said that voters should be able to complain directly to electoral registration officers and, if necessary, then to the courts.

Mr Lockley said that the judgment would have an immediate impact as local authorities were presently compiling the next electoral register.

"Government will need to act quickly and in a co-ordinated way to avoid an avalanche of complaints to local authorities and the courts from disgruntled electors."