On December 5, 2013, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled by majority in Vilnes and Others v. Norway that, according to the press release, “Norwegian authorities failed to provide deep sea divers with essential information about risks associated with their employers’ use of rapid decompression tables” and thus violated Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) but not Article 2 (right to life) or Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.  Mr. Vilnes and other divers argued that they sustained damage to their health as a result of diving in the North Sea for oil companies between 1965 and 1990.  The Court, though noting “authorities had taken a wide range of measures in order to ensure the protection of divers’ safety,” reasoned that such authorities had failed to “provide access to essential information,” specifically on “rapid decompression times and on the consequence that this could have on their health and safety,” resulting in them being “unable to fully assess the risks involved and give their informed consent.”  The Court ordered the Norwegian government to pay different amounts of damages, ranging from €8,000–€50,000, to the applicants within three months.