ABSTRACT
The rights to privacy and to freedom of religion, expression and assembly are all subject to similar limitations in the ECHR. These are all contained in the second part of the relevant article, Art 8(2), which states:
Whilst significant numbers of cases against the UK in Strasbourg have succeeded because the interference with the right was not ‘in accordance with the law’ or the interference was not proportionate – not ‘necessary in a democratic society’ – few have succeeded because the purported aim of the interference was outside of the range provided for in the second part of the article. There is not space here to deal with all of the difficulties that the expression ‘national security’ creates for the courts, but it is arguable that the expression is too vague to be contained in a Bill of Rights.
