University of Hertfordshire

Mr Justice Eady looked back over the nearly 60 years since the United Kingdom signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms - partially formulated by British lawyers - and acknowledged the rights enshrined in Articles 8 and 10 relating to personal privacy the freedom of expression.

“As I have suggested… the question we need to address today, especially following the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998, is not whether it is right to protect personal privacy, as an aspect of upholding individual dignity and autonomy, but rather how we should strive to get the balance right and adjust that balance from time to time in a rapidly changing society.”