DOI: 10.5176/2251-2853_2.1.47
Authors: Anqi Shen
Abstract:
This article pays attention to privacy issues in policing activities. It begins with two privacy related incidents involving the police – one in China and the other in the UK. It then compares different social and legal contexts in the two systems in order to explain the differences as regards privacy concerns in policing. It focuses on the underlying historical, socio-cultural and ideological factors and legal settings. It argues that there is no universal norm of privacy and privacy must be examined in particular cultural and legal settings. Both China and the UK recognize legal protection of privacy, but the law in neither system is complete. Both jurisdictions recognize the balance between privacy interests and other equally important social interests and rights, but what constitutes the right balance is constructed differently, and neither system is perfect in striking that balance. Finally, it advocates the importance of comparative socio-legal research between different cultural and legal systems.
Keywords: China, comparative study, Policing, privacy, UK
Updating...