The European Court of Human Rights upheld a complaint on Tuesday against a British anti-terrorism law that allows police officers to search individuals without firm grounds for suspicion. The judgement backed two British citizens who were stopped and searched at a demonstration near an arms fair in London in 2003, saying the fact that officers could act on simple intuition left too much discretion to police.
Under a law passed in 2000, police can issue an order for anyone to be stopped and searched without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing if it is judged "expedient for the prevention of acts of terrorism". The court said in a statement there was "a clear risk of arbitrariness in granting such broad discretion to the police officer". It also said the use of the coercive powers to require an individual to submit to a detailed search of their person and belongings "amounted to a clear interference with the right to respect for private life".
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