Privacy on the European continent: The European Court of Human Rights, Germany and the Netherlands

Abstract

Since the first notion of the right to privacy in the famous article by Warren and Brandeis in 1890 there is discussion concerning the question how extensive the scope of this fundamental right can or must be. The narrow definition of the right to privacy as a right to be let alone, became inadequate in the 20th century and a wider scope was given to this fundamental right. Although there has always been a certain agreement about the essence of the right to privacy, one can say this fundamental right is still in development. In this paper, the author wants to give a short overview on the open character of the right to privacy on the European continent.