Independent third world judges lead the way
From page 7
is a fundamental right protected by the Indian Constitution even though it does not specifically refer to such a right.
The first significant case in which the right to privacy emerged is the US case of Roe v Wade, decided in 1973. This case affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion on the ground of her right to privacy which was protected by the fourteenth amendment to the US constitution. There is no specific right to privacy in the US Constitution but a part of the fourteenth amendment was held to have conferred such a right. The operative part of the clause states: “…nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” Justice Blackmun, who delivered the opinion of the court, which has remained controversial, said: “The Court has recognized that a right of personal privacy…does exist under the Constitution…This right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action…or…in the Ninth Amendment’s reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”
In a 547-page decision on August 24, the Indian Supreme Court of nine judges overruled previous decisions, went further than Roe v Wade, and held in the Aadhaar Case that notwithstanding that the India Constitution did not specifically protect the right of privacy, nevertheless Article 21, which protects the right to life and personal liberty, confers a fundamental right to privacy under the Indian Constitution. “The right to privacy is an integral part of the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution.”
Long regarded as independent and highly respected, the Supreme Court rejected the government’s argument that the right to privacy was not constitutionally protected and ruled that the “Aadhaar” biometric project under which the government had collected biometric and demographic data of 1.17 billion persons, ostensibly to be able to plug leaks in India’s social welfare schemes, violated the fundamental rights to privacy of citizens under Article 21.
The government intended to use the data for a host of other services and companies were also hoping to use it. The court, in a decision of worldwide implications in the information age, held that a wide range of choices in new and numerous facets of life emerging from new technologies, far exceeding anything hitherto considered by any court, is protected as fundamental rights to privacy.
Like the United States and India, the right to life and personal liberty are protected by Articles 138 and 139 of the Guyana Constitution. For Ocean Going Vessels the opening lasts about For Trawlers the opening lasts about