Public Protection, Proportionality, and the Search for Balance
Ministry of Justice Research Series 10/07, September 2007
70 Pages Posted: 22 Mar 2012
Date Written: September 2007
Abstract
This report examines how courts in the UK and Europe respond when human rights and security appear to conflict. It compares cases from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It examines how rights are applied and how courts use the concept of proportionality to mediate conflicts between rights and security. The report concludes that British courts are less consistent in their application of proportionality than countries with constitutional rights protections which tend to be more rigorous in their protections of rights than are countries, like the UK, that rely instead on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Keywords: United Kingdom, European Union, France, Germany, Spain, Human Rights, Security, European Court of Human Rights, Proportionality
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