Liberty "versus" security? A human rights perspective in times of terrorism

Abstract

In times of terrorism, the need for security in societies grows. Hand in hand with increasing insecurity, state measures to reduce the perceived terrorist threat are adopted to protect society against the perceivably growing terrorist threat. At the same time, anti-terrorist measures partly massively encroach upon human rights and civil liberties, such as, for example, the right to private and family life, the freedoms of expression, assembly and association, the right to liberty and security of person but also the prohibition of torture and the right to life. There is thus an obvious tension between the rights and freedoms of the individual and the security of the overall society. Against this background, this contribution proposes to examine the criteria/elements to balance liberty versus security from a human rights perspective and to – ideally – find an adequate equilibrium between both poles. How can the tension between liberty and security be approached through the lens of human rights? This will be examined with reference to the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It is argued that in search of the adequate balance between liberty and security, the ECtHR increasingly turns towards the domestic sphere.