Individual restrictions are adopted in situations that allow for individual assessment as to whether a restriction is needed and to what extent it is necessary in a particular situation. Individual restrictions are more nuanced and allow for choice in the restrictive measures, taking into account the needs of each situation and person.
Individual decisions
When a state authority or official restricts human rights, they will most likely need to issue a written decision. In most cases where the law allows state authorities to restrict human rights, it also grants them certain discretion to carry out an individual assessment. The goal of this assessment is to determine whether human rights need to be restricted at all, and if so, the restrictions which are necessary and justified in the specific situation.
All decisions restricting human rights need to be duly reasoned.
Acts of state officials
The State can also restrict human rights through the actions of state officials. In these cases, there are usually no written decisions issued, with the very actions of state officials acting as the measures that restrict human rights. ‘Actions’ in this context may also include a failure to act where the state has an obligation to do so.
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