Public Security and Individual Freedom: The Dilemma of Northern Ireland

Abstract

Northern Ireland has been the scene of recurring and often horrifying violence since 1969, as terrorist groups have clashed with each other, with the British Army, and with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (R.U.C.). The situation has been a difficult one for both the people and the legal system of Northern Ireland: faced with the problem of highly dedicated terrorists, the British government has had to confront directly the tension between its duty to protect public security and its concomitant obligation to safeguard individual freedom. This Article focuses on the British government's most recent legislative response to this tension, the Emergency Provisions Act (EPA), and appraises its success in accommodating the competing demands of public safety and private liberty.