The Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force on 1 January 2005, creating a new statutory 'right to open government'. It imposed new duties on public authorities regarding the disclosure and handling of information. The fifth edition of this popular Guide offers the most up-to-date guidance on the Act, taking into account all the changes since the publication of the last edition. Most significantly, the developments have been in relation to the case law and this Guide features expert...

Some would argue that scarcely a day passes without a new assault on our privacy. In the wake of the whistle-blower Edward Snowden's revelations about the extent of surveillance conducted by the security services in the United States, Britain, and elsewhere, concerns about individual privacy have significantly increased. The Internet generates risks, unimagined even twenty years ago, to the security and integrity of information in all its forms. The manner in which information is collected...

Professor Raymond Wacks is a leading international expert on privacy. For more than three decades he has published numerous books and articles on this controversial subject. Privacy is a fundamental value that is under attack from several quarters. Electronic surveillance, biometrics, CCTV, ID cards, RFID codes, online security, the monitoring of employees, the uses and misuses of DNA, - to name but a few - all raise fundamental questions about our right to privacy. This Very Short Introducti...

The Defamation Act constitutes a significant overhaul of UK defamation legislation, which follows years of concern about the detrimental effects that preceeding libel laws had on freedom of expression, and the extent to which the jurisdiction had become a magnet for libel claimants. This new Blackstone's Guide combines the full text of the Act and extracts of related relevant legislation with an expert narrative. It brings practitioners up-to-date with this complex piece of drafti...

The Blackstone's Guide Series delivers concise and accessible books covering the latest legislative changes and amendments. Published soon after enactment, they offer expert commentary by leading names on the scope, extent and effects of the legislation, plus a full copy of the Act itself. They offer a cost-effective solution to key information needs and are the perfect companion for any practitioner needing to get up to speed with the latest changes. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 came ...

Freedom of expression is a fundamental right at the heart of any democratic society. It is, however, inevitably restricted by other important values, including the right to privacy: the control individuals exercise over their sensitive personal information. The English law, since the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998, has undergone a tectonic shift in its recognition of this right protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which the Act assimilated into d...

This book provides different analytical perspectives into how human rights-based approaches to development (HRBADs) contribute to change. Based on the understanding that HRBADs are increasingly integrated into development and governance discourse and processes in many societies and organisations, it explores how the reinforcement of human rights principles and norms has impacted the practices and processes of development policy implementation. To reflect on the nature of the chang...

Because of the overwhelming changes in media within the past twenty years, First Amendment values are more vital than ever to this countrys freedom. This thorough study brings to the forefront the reasons that government regulation of news content violates the public interest and the fundamental principles of the First Amendment. A recent FCC decision may even threaten the freedom of news on the Internet.The U.S. State Department urged at World Press Freedom Day in 2011 that journa...

In a series of landmark decisions since 1990, Canadian courts have shaped a distinctive approach to the regulation of obscenity, hate literature, and child pornography. Missing from the debate, however, has been any attempt to determine whether the legal status quo can be justified by reference to a framework of moral/political principles. The Hateful and the Obscene is intended to fill that gap.L.W. Sumner brings philosophical depth and theoretical rigour to some of the m...

In recent years the impact of human rights and fundamental rights on private law has risen in prominence and led to a whole series of detailed investigations. 'Constitutionalization of private law' is the flag under which most of the research on the increasing impact of national constitutional rights on national private legal orders is sailing. In the absence of a European Constitution, the constitutionalization of European private law suggests a process: constitutionalization instead of c...