Law Society congratulates Privacy International on twenty years of privacy advocacy

18 March 2010

The Law Society is today hosting the 20th anniversary of Privacy International (PI), the oldest surviving privacy advocacy group in the world, which has campaigned globally to defend personal privacy.

PI, a non-government organisation with the primary role of advocacy and support, was the first organisation to campaign at an international level on privacy issues. The organisation's founders built an international network in response to mounting concern across the world over the evolving nature and magnitude of privacy violations.

John Wotton, Deputy Vice President of the Law Society said, "Over the last 20 years, PI has done more than any other organisation to raise public awareness of the growing threats to personal privacy. Today it is a bulwark against infringement of personal privacy - not just in Britain, but wherever a government over-extends the reach of the state, or a corporation abuses the trust of those whose data it is bound to protect."

He added, "For the past year, the Society has focussed on a wide range of issues concerning the rule of law, which provides protection for fundamental human rights. The right to respect for private and family life is enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights. As the representative body of solicitors in England and Wales, the Law Society is committed to defending the rights of all men and women which are guaranteed by the rule of law, including the right to privacy."

Nick Clegg and David Blunkett will address this evening's gathering, which includes eminent names from politics and across party lines as well as from the professions and the private sector.

The Law Society will itself be addressing some issues concerning privacy by hosting a series of exploratory seminars on surveillance and the rule of law in the Spring.