Legal challenge to smoking ban

12 April 2012

Campaigners for the right to smoke are expected to launch a High Court challenge over the Government's smoking ban in enclosed public places.

The ban, which starts on Sunday, covers virtually all enclosed public places including offices, factories, pubs and bars, but not outdoors or in private homes.

The pressure group Freedom2Choose is planning to lodge papers at the Royal Courts of Justice in London seeking a judicial review.

The group says the ban amounts to injustice and erosion of freedom and personal liberties.

Their legal challenge is based on the contention that it violates human rights laws.

These include a breach of Article 1 of the First Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees the right to the peaceful enjoyment of possessions.

Freedom2Choose also says the new laws are an "unjustifiable" infringement of the right to respect for privacy under Article 8 of the convention.

The group says: "This will be a legal test case with significant wider public interest."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in