To what extent is it justifiable to infringe on the right to privacy

Abstract

Abstract provided by author

This paper discusses the right to privacy and whether interception infringes on that right. Its three main aims are: (1) to highlight the problems involved in discussing an essentially philosophical question within a legal framework, and thus to show that providing purely legal answers to an ethical question is an inadequate approach to the problem of infringement of privacy rights; (2) to discuss and define what privacy rights at an international level are; and (3) to apply a globally acceptable ethical approach of international human rights to the problem of privacy rights, and thus to answer the question of to what extent is it justifiable to infringe on the right to privacy, especially in light of recent heightened concerns about the Communications Act. It concludes that the interception is, at least in the vast majority of cases, an unjustified infringement of the right to privacy, even if this interception is only aimed at preventing the commission of acts of terrorism