ABSTRACT
The north-west of Europe including Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and, to a lesser extent, Belgium have a much stronger approach to privacy than the UK. Suspects and victims in court cases, for instance have much stronger protection of their identities in court cases than in the UK. Whilst the UK courts protect the anonymity of minors in most instances – suspects, witnesses and victims – this is much more firmly applied in north-west Europe. France is perhaps the strictest country in Europe when it comes to privacy, with the French legal system of privacy protection being perhaps the toughest in the world, involving both the protection of privacy and the protection of personal image, a right that exists in a number of countries. Protection of personal privacy is taken very seriously in Germany. Partly this follows the Second World War when many Germans learnt first-hand of the dangers of state surveillance.
