Know Your Valuable Rights

 

    The book   The  Rule of law By Tom Bingham    has three parts . The first part deals with topics such as    the importance of the rule of Law   and history of it. In the part two,  issues such as the accessibility, equality before law , human rights,  and its niche in the international Legal Order are taken up for study and part three deals with contemporary issue such as Terrorism and the Rule of Law  and the latter’s relation with the sovereignty of parliament.

   Initially Bingham  refers to Professor Dicey’s coinage of the term and mentions three points, no one can be punished except under established law, no one  is above law and a special attribute of the English institutions. It has vagueness, extended from the U.K. to America, rest of Europe, Australia and New Zealand . Tom Bingham sees the core principle as that “all persons and authorities within the State, whether public or private, should be bound by and entitled to the benefit of laws publicly made , taking effect (general) in future and publicly administered in the court.” (8) He also writes that the hallmarks of the regime sans the rule of law are , “the midnight knock on the door, the sudden disappearance,  the show trial, the subjection of prisoners to genetic experiment, the confession extracted by torture, the gulag and the concentration camp, the gas chamber, the  practice of genocide  or ethnic cleansing, the waging of aggressive war.” (9) many of these characterized  the fascist regimes of Germany and Italy and   Russian totalitarianism.    

    Tom mentions that European commission has consistently treated the democratization, the rue of law, the respect for human rights and good governance as inseparably interlinked.” (67)  He thinks that a savagely repressing or persecuting state in case of some sections cannot be regarded as observing the rule of law despite having  “the detailed laws duly enacted and scrupulously observed.”  (67) While the Soviet Union reduced the principle of the rule of law to statutory laws for the dictatorship of proletariat, Nazism saw law as the will of the nation and realized in Fuehrer. He sees the rights recognised by European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 are fundamental and protection of them does not elevate individual rights at the expense of community.

The right to life

The article  2 provides every one’s  right to life shall be protected by law and restrictions conditions in which law may be lawfully taken . it is the most basic right. English law has protected this right by criminalising murder, manslaughter, infanticide, causing death by dangerous driving, by having no truck with euthanasia and by imposing civil liability on those who cause death negligently but not criminally.

Suicide has not been a crime since 1961 but abetment to it is a crime. This is in tune with European court of Human Rights which has put obligation on member states not to take life without justification. They are also obliged to  establish a framework of laws, precautions ,procedures and means of enforcement which will protect life to the maximum practical  extent . 

Article 2 is invoked when a death has occurred . it cannot give redress to  the deceased but to the family and close relatives of the deceased who are rightly regarded as victims. They have right to  know what has happened to the victim and to prevent repetition of such incidents in future.

Article 3: The prohibition of torture

This article provides that “ No one shall be  subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The common law ( followed by statute) opposes torture several centuries ago and the Bill of Rights, 1689 barred the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments.

Article 5: Right to liberty and security : This says no one shall be deprived of his liberty except under cases and the procedure established by law. A person arrested has to be told in a language he can understand the reason and charge against him. He shall be brought before the court promptly and in case of unreasonable  delay in trial, he must be released on bail. A detainee can challenge the lawfulness of his detention be decided quickly and his release ordered in his detention is unlawful. In case of violation of article, he is entitled to financial compensation.

Article 9: Freedom of thought , conscience and religion

Article 10: Freedom of expression  

 This right is there under some prohibitions of statements  such as libel, slander , dishonest criticism of others’ goods, contempt of court, breach of copyright , obscene, seditious, inciting to mutiny, or crime or disclosure of the official secrets.

Article 11 : Freedom of assembly and association

 Conclusion : An awareness of these rights will lead to a vibrant democracy in the world.   Knowledge is a bliss and ignorance is a curse in the present context where common people are facing many hurdles in realizing  their basic rights to call themselves as citizens of the civilized countries.