Freedom as a value protected by criminal law

Abstract

Freedom occupies an important place among the values protected by the law; it appears to be one of the basic human values, and perhaps the most important next to life. Deprivation of human freedom appears to be one of the most drastic forms of restriction of human rights and freedoms, to be resorted to only in cases of extreme necessity. Violations of freedom are condemned in every democratic social system on the basis of judgments derived from the oldest ethical principles. Freedom in its varied aspects is of interest to various branches of law - mainly constitutional, international, civil and criminal law.