Privacy, security and public opinion

[Dave Bird]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

In article <007101bfcff4$1cce1160$3e0a989e@eloka>, Owen Lewis
<oml@eloka.demon.co.uk> writes
>> > Well, that's a view, firmly expressed. Do you know of any nation where
>it is
>> > plain that the standards you prescibe are applied and under what law is
>the
>> > prescription enforced?
>>
>> No. Not that it matters: I don't know of any nation with a zero murder
>> rate, either, but I still reserve the right to oppose murder.
>
>With respect, that does not address the point. You know many countries with
>laws expressly prohibiting murder under severe penalty. Which countries do
>you know that have laws expressly requiring the legislature (or the
>executive) to publish in full (and who is to judge whether they ever
>have?) their reasons for every piece of legislation, on penalty of having to
>withdraw the legislation if they do not do so?

 The Council of Europe nations, who have signed up for the European
 Convention on Human Rights:  if a law restricts the basic rights
 of those held to be in breach of it  -- most do, surely? -- then it 
 must be shown necessary and proportionate, under the rule of law in
 a civilised and tolerant country, to prevent a greater harm. So you
 have to point to a real harm and show that nothing less would do to
 prevent it.  This generally amounts to publishing and justifying 
 the reasons for such a law.  Under penalty of changing it to be
 compliant if it is not so.  Domestic and Strasbourg courts judge it.
 
- --          .       ___                     .       
      '-|:::|@\-[x]/__/|              .-|:::|@\                    
        ||--|"" .  |__|/                ||--|"" .                   
          '-|:::|@\      (")"""-.         .-|:::|@\  --+--.(")"""-'         
            ||  |""       ||""|             ||  |""    '   ' |""|

 DEMOCRACY: two wolves & a lamb     LIBERTY: a lamb with a kalashnikov
        voting what's for lunch     contesting  the  vote
          

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGPsdk version 1.7.1

iQA/AwUBOT6+5H8v/Y5zkfRPEQIyeACaA5mShM1C87NOqOvD5fcLoZPW/ukAoOxg
Ha9EiRV0RCws5Z3EAWBU1ijk
=Wbzy
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----