Civil Liberties

This book presents a detailed and critical analysis of the legal protection of civil liberties in Britain. In this second edition, it comments on the civil liberties record of the Conservative governments from 1979-97 and examines the position of the current Labour government. It will be of value not only to those studying civil liberties but also as a reference work for all those with an interest in the transitional state of civil liberties in Britain today. The book begins with consideration of the theoretical background against which to measure the protection of civil liberties in Britain. It then goes on to consider the nature of that protection in practice, with particular emphasis on the influence of the European Convention on Human Rights. This leads on to a detailed consideration of the implications of incorporating the Convention into domestic law. Having established this background, the various liberties are examined, beginning with consideration of freedom of speech in conjunction with the related topics of freedom of information. The following section examines the extent to which privacy interests receive protection in British law, with consideration of the various proposals for the protection of personal information from media intrusion and an evaluation of the extent to which state agents are empowered to invade privacy. The next section is devoted to freedom of the person, with detailed consideration of the powers of the police and safeguards for suspects.