The Right to Liberty under International Human Rights Law: An Analysis

Abstract

Liberal theory has a strong commitment to individual liberty. Every human being has human rights naturally setting limits to the legitimate action of states and others. It is therefore imperative that any deprivation of liberty must be in accordance with the law. Some form of proportionality assessment must be put in place in order to prevent arbitrariness in the detention of individuals. This is the reason for the human right to liberty. Even if a state has legitimate reasons for detaining someone, it still has obligations towards that person. The article explored the fact that individuals do not lose the protections provided by human rights and in particular right to liberty as a result of detention. These protections pave the way for the respect of human dignity and so individuals are not to be ill-treated by their captors as a result of detention. These protections provide one of the bases for the proper administration of justice.