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Security of the person is a basic entitlement guaranteed by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...
, adopted by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
in 1948. It is also a
human right Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
explicitly defined and guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitution of Canada, the
Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gove ...
and other laws around the world. In general, the right to the security of one's person is associated with
liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
and includes the right, if one is imprisoned unlawfully, to a remedy such as '' habeas corpus''. Security of person can also be seen as an expansion of rights based on prohibitions of
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts car ...
and
cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisdic ...
. Rights to security of person can guard against less lethal conduct, and can be used in regard to prisoners' rights.


United Nations

The right to security of the person is guaranteed by Article 3 of the ''
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...
''. In this article, it is combined with the right to life and liberty. In full, the article reads, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." The United Nations treaty, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom ...
(1966), also recognizes a right to security of person. Article 3 states that "Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person," and the section prohibits "arbitrary arrest or detention." The section continues, "No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law."


Europe

The right to security of the person is mentioned in Article 5(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights under the heading ''Right to liberty and security'' ("Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law") and in Article 6 of the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union (EU) citizens and residents into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly proclai ...
("Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person").


Canada

The right to security of the person was recognized in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...
in the '' Canadian Bill of Rights'' in 1960. Section 1(a) of this law recognized "the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by
due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pe ...
of law." However, the Bill of Rights was a statute and not part of the Constitution. In 1982, a right to security of the person was added to the Constitution. It was included in section 7 of the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
'', which stipulates that "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice." Security of the person in section 7 consists of rights to privacy of the body and its health and of the right protecting the "psychological integrity" of an individual. That is, the right protects against significant government-inflicted harm ( stress) to the mental state of the individual. ('' Blencoe v. B.C. (Human Rights Commission)'', 2000) This right has generated significant case law, as
abortion in Canada Abortion in Canada is legal at all stages of pregnancy and is publicly funded as a medical procedure under the combined effects of the federal Canada Health Act and provincial health-care systems. However, access to services and resources varies ...
was legalized in ''
R. v. Morgentaler ''R v Morgentaler'', 9881 SCR 30 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which held that the abortion provision in the ''Criminal Code'' was unconstitutional because it violated women's rights under section 7 of the ''Canadian Charter of ...
'' (1988) after the Supreme Court found the Therapeutic Abortion Committees breached women's security of person by threatening their health. Some judges also felt control of the body was a right within security of the person, breached by the abortion law. In '' Operation Dismantle v. The Queen'' (1985)
cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhea ...
testing was unsuccessfully challenged as violating security of the person for risking nuclear war. In '' Chaoulli v. Quebec (Attorney General)'' (2005), some Supreme Court justices even considered
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...
's ban on private
health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...
to breach security of the person, since delays in medical treatment could have physical and stressful consequences. There has been discussion within the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions ...
and among academics as to whether security of the person also guarantees some economic rights. Theoretically, security of the person would be breached if the government limits a person's ability to make an income, by denying
welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
, taking away property essential to one's profession, or denying licenses. However, section 7 is primarily concerned with legal rights, so this reading of economic rights is questionable. Many economic issues could also be
political question In United States constitutional law, the political question doctrine holds that a constitutional dispute that requires knowledge of a non-legal character or the use of techniques not suitable for a court or explicitly assigned by the Constitution ...
s.


South Africa

In 1996 the government of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
adopted a constitutional Bill of Rights which recognized a right to security of the person in section 12. Here, it was combined with a "right to freedom." Section 12 went on to define security of the person and the right to freedom more thoroughly, including within it bodily control and reproductive control, freedom from torture and cruel and unusual punishment and a right to trial. In full, section 12 reads,


Turkey

The
Constitution of Turkey The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası), also known as the Constitution of 1982, is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government and sets out the principles and rules of ...
guarantees security of person, along with the right to liberty, in Article 19, enacted in 1982 and amended in 2001. The article spells out limits to these rights in the form of rulings of courts under the law, allowing for mental institutions and institutions for addicts,
extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...
, etc. The article also limits arrest and detention to cases in which a judge allows it, where there is not enough time for this, or the person is seen being responsible for a crime. A person will then be told why they have been arrested, and their
next of kin A person's next of kin (NOK) are that person's closest living blood relatives. Some countries, such as the United States, have a legal definition of "next of kin". In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, "next of kin" may have no legal d ...
will also be told of the arrest. Finally, the article allows for government compensation if these rights are violated.


New Zealand

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, adopted in 1990, guarantees "Life and security of the person" in sections 8 through 11. Section 8 guarantees a right to life except when deprived in accordance with fundamental justice, while section 9 prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Section 10 prohibits a person being subjected to medical treatment against his or her will. Finally, section 11 gives a
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...
er the right to not take medical treatment.


United Kingdom

Security of person is mentioned in Schedule I Article 5 of the Human Rights Act 1998. This version is the latest incarnation of the Act, though there have been minor edits since. This new act represents one aspect of Tony Blair's promised constitutional reforms.


References


See also

* Human security {{DEFAULTSORT:Security Of Person Security Abortion law Human rights by issue Rights