The right on privacy of correspondence and telephone conversations as independent human right: grounding of the scientific concept

Abstract

The author of the article has grounded the scientific concept of understanding the right on privacy of correspondence and telephone conversations as anindependentright. To achieve the objective the author has provided a brief characteristic of the essence of the concept of understanding the mentioned right as a component of the right to inviolability of private and family (private) life, which the author has called “personal” concept. The reasons for its existence have been provided; among them the author has outlined in particular, features of international and legal regulation of the right on privacy of correspondence and telephone conversations and historical conditioning. The main provisions that scholars put forward and form the content of the concept of “independent right” have been studied. The author has brought to a focus a number of arguments in favor of the mentioned concept and thus, has proved the inexpediency to limit the essence and purpose of the right on privacy of correspondence and telephone conversations exclusively by the framework of private life. For grounding the concept of “independent right” the author has considered certain scientific points of view of scholars, the position of the European Court of Human Rights; has analyzed the relevance of using and the other side of understanding the causes of “personal” concept’s existence; has taken into account the semantic significance of the terms “private” and “personal”. In this context, the author has formulated the criterion of “formality”, which is to be considered while determining, which correspondence and what kind of telephone conversations are the object of legal protection of the institution of privacy of correspondence and telephone conversations.