PERSONAL PRIVACY RIGHT

Right of Personal Privacy

Personal Privacy Right

Introduction

Privacy is defiend as that area of life which takes place within an area set aside and which entitles an individual to protect from others interference in order to keep it confidential, this concept is equivalent to privacy. To have a right for privacy is a part of the Human Rights Universal Declaration. Which declares that the right of privacy is inherent to evey indivdiaul, indispensable, inalienable and independent of any factor. Like all other human rights, the right of privacy is an assurance of dignity, that cannot be taken into consideration to uninformed or illogical intrusion in an individual's privacy (Smet, 2010, pp. 183-236).

Invasion of Privacy

Invasion of privacy means someone interfering in the privacy of another without being allowed. The right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution, but the absence of any specific legislative safeguards and mechanisms to protect it not only creates an atmosphere conducive to the invasion of privacy from the government, commercial and criminal organizations, but in most cases prevents the possibility of detecting such violations.

Everyone is entitled to rights of personality, such as the right to life, the inviolability and integrity of his person, in respect of his name, reputation and his private life.

(European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 (Hereinafter ECHR)

Discussion

The law of privacy is not as developed in the UK as it is in the US. However, there are remedies for invasion of privacy in the UK against government officials. The Younger Committee first recommended a tort for invasion of privacy in 1972. But the recommendation was rejected primarily on the grounds that imposing a tort for protection against invasion of privacy was difficult when balancing personal privacy against the wider public interest in freedom of expression and the free exchange of information (Beverley, 2005, pp. 13-54). The prevailing legal premise against allowing a specific tort for the invasion of privacy is founded on the belief that allowing a personal right to privacy will have an uneasy coexistence with the law of England and Wales which typically relies on breaches of a duty of care as opposed to positively asserting rights.

Human Right Act 1998

With the implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998 the prevailing legal climate may not matter with respect to the protection of personal privacy and thus remedies for invasion of privacy. The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates into the Law ...