Stars of Citizen CCTV: Video Surveillance and the Right to Privacy in Public Places

Abstract:     
An individual right to privacy has long been recognised in Ireland as “one of the fundamental [unenumerated] personal rights of the citizen which flow from the Christian and democratic nature of the State." However, the Irish courts have had relatively few opportunities to consider the precise scope and character of this right.

This article examines the decision of the High Court in Atherton v. DPP, where it was held that a person did not have an enforceable expectation of privacy in a part of his property which was visible from the public road.

The article argues that this approach is misconceived and that it fails to take adequate account of the relationship between privacy and the autonomy of the individual.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 16

Keywords: privacy, surveillance, privacy in public, autonomy

Accepted Paper Series