written by Mr. Oded Raz
Introduction Not too long ago an extended panel of Supreme Court judges in the United States, ruled by a majority of five to four that the law enforcement agencies in the United States can make invasive physical searches, including a strip search, of any person taken to jail or into custody, even if he was arrested due to a minor offense such as driving at excessive speed or failing to pay alimony – with no need to prove that there is any suspicion that the arrested person is carrying anything prohibited. There is a bill before the British parliament under which the country’s security agencies will be given the power to eavesdrop on the emails and SMS’s of its citizens. Many democratic countries are now displaying increasing readiness to employ strong measures against increasing international terrorism. This policy confronts democratic countries with a difficult challenge – how on the one hand is it possible to fight terrorism effectively and uncompromisingly, and on the other...
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