Reflections on civil liberties in an age of counterterrorism

Abstract

This article examines the historical origins of civil liberties and shows their importance to systems of government rooted in the principles of representative democracy. It argues that the subject of civil liberties needs to be distinguished from issues related to criminal justice and human rights, and that too broad a deployment of the language of civil liberties can lead to the importance of civil liberties being underappreciated by the wider public. The article considers how the integrity of the language of civil liberties and the representative system of democracy as a whole can be preserved in the face of the strong challenge to these values that has become increasingly apparent since the 9/11 attacks.