Posted by Chester Morton / Friday, 15 April 2016 / No comments
Why the rights and liberties of citizens can be curtailed
A 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
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Highlight six limitations of individual rights and
liberty.
2. a. What is right?
b. In which five
ways can the rights and liberties of a citizen be limited.
