Content area
Abstract
This thesis is about the protection of privacy in the common law. It examines privacy in a theoretical and doctrinal context and suggests how a common law privacy action should be developed in England. The thesis is divided into three parts, each of which is divided into two chapters. In the first part, I examine privacy as a theoretical concept looking firstly at how privacy should be defined and secondly at why it is important. In the first chapter, I suggest that privacy should be defined as a state of 'desired inaccessibility' or 'freedom from unwanted access' and argue that there are two important aspects to it - informational inaccessibility and physical inaccessibility. In chapter 2, I suggest that protection of these interests is important for the promotion and preservation of dignity, self-development, happiness and personal security and for the development and maintenance of relationships. Part II examines the protection of informational and physical privacy in the legal context, looking specifically at the 'public disclosure of private facts' tort in New Zealand (chapter 3) and the United States tort of 'intrusion into solitude, seclusion and private affairs' (chapter 4). In the third part, I examine the protection of privacy in English law, looking at both the domestic and European human rights jurisprudence. The fifth chapter therefore examines England's obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights and the sixth looks at privacy in the domestic context, focussing particularly on recent developments in breach of confidence. Finally, the conclusion draws these theoretical and doctrinal discussions together and suggests how they should inform the development of a common law right of privacy in England.
