ABSTRACT
It is important from the outset that you place this question in the context of the rule of law. In so doing you might consider the work of Professor A V Dicey The
Law of the Constitution (1985) and a critique thereof by I Jennings The Law and the Constitution (1959). Distinguishing between civil rights and civil liberties may be achieved by reference to the work of the American jurist, Professor Wesley Holfeld. You are called upon to consider how judges in the UK have gone about protecting civil liberties in the areas of freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of the person. Such a study, however, has to take place within the context of parliamentary sovereignty and an appreciation of the statutory constraints placed upon individual actions for the benefit of society as a whole. Particular statutes you may wish to consider include the Official Secrets Act 1911, The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, Public Order Act 1936, Public Order Act 1986, Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964. Cases illustrating the degree of protection UK judges have given citizens include Beatty v Gillbanks (1882), Arrowsmith v Jenkins (1963), Thomas v Sawkins (1935), R v Home Secretary ex parte Brind (1991), Shaw v DPP (1962), Knuller v DPP (1973), Derbyshire CC v Times Newspaper (1993) and AG v Guardian Newspaper (No 2) (1990).
