Posted by Chester Morton / Friday, 15 April 2016 / No comments
Why the rights and liberties of citizens can be curtailed
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| Credit: johnlewis.house.gov |
Threat to public
health
The outbreak of
any communicable disease can lead to the confinement of the sufferers of such
diseases. A person showing signs of 'ebola' has to be quarantined and observed in
order to contain the spread of the disease. This confinement is a violation of
the person’s right to free movement but under certain circumstances, these rights need to be restricted.
Times of Emergency
When
war breaks
out in a country or natural disaster occurs, the state apparatus may
break down including law and order. To manage the situation, a
government may have
to adopt measures, including the declaration of a state of emergency,
that may curtail the rights of the individual.
Mental
disability
Mental disability can also serve as a ground on which someone's right can be curtailed. People who
have mental challenges may have to be confined to mental facilities for their own safety. This action,
though a breach of the person’s right to movement, is to benefit the mental patient and to
keep the streets free of such people.
When one breaks
the law
The liberty of a
person can be curtailed when that person breaks the law and is arraigned before
a court of competent jurisdiction. When the culprit is found guilty, he/she may
be sentenced to a jail term and sent to prison.In that case his right to free movement has been curtailed.
Security of the
state
In
the event of a state being invaded and attacked by another state,
certain steps have to be taken to weather the storm. A state of
emergency may have to be declared to manage the situation. Under such
circumstances, some rights may be curtailed.
Libel
Though the citizens have the right to free speech, they cannot just say things about people that they cannot substantiate. To protect people from suffering injuries from the words of other people, there are laws of libel which restricts what people say. This curtails the rights of the people to free speech
Libel
Though the citizens have the right to free speech, they cannot just say things about people that they cannot substantiate. To protect people from suffering injuries from the words of other people, there are laws of libel which restricts what people say. This curtails the rights of the people to free speech
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Highlight six
limitations of individual rights and liberty.
2. a. What is a
right?
b.
In which five ways can the rights and liberties of a citizen be limited.
