The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

which received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...

. The Act makes a remedy for breach of a Convention right available in UK courts, without the need to go to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

(ECHR) in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

. In particular, the Act makes it unlawful for any public body to act in a way which is incompatible with the convention, unless the wording of any other

primary legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democ ...

provides no other choice. It also requires the judiciary (including tribunals) to take account of any decisions, judgment or opinion of the European Court of Human Rights, and to interpret legislation, as far as possible, in a way which is compatible with Convention rights. However, if it is not possible to interpret an Act of Parliament so as to make it compatible with the convention, the judges are not allowed to override it. All they can do is issue a declaration of incompatibility. This declaration does not affect the validity of the Act of Parliament: in that way, the Human Rights Act seeks to maintain the principle of

parliamentary sovereignty Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over ...

, pursuant to the Constitution of the United Kingdom. However, judges may strike down secondary legislation. Under the Act, individuals retain the right to sue in the Strasbourg court. Former Prime Minister David Cameron criticised the Act from 2007 and proposed to replace it with a " British Bill of Rights" during his second ministry. A potential replacement, the Bill of Rights Bill 2022, was announced, with draft text, on 22 June 2022.

Background

The convention was drafted by the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir, (29 May 1900 – 27 January 1967), known as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe from 1942 to 1954 and as Viscount Kilmuir from 1954 to 1962, was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge who combine ...

was the Chair of the Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions of the council's Consultative Assembly from 1949 to 1952, and oversaw the drafting of the

. It was designed to incorporate a traditional

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...

approach to securing "effective political democracy" from the strong traditions of freedom and liberty in the United Kingdom. As a founding member of the

, the United Kingdom acceded to the

in March 1951. However it was not until the 1960s that British citizens were able to bring claims in the

(ECtHR). During the 1980s, groups such as Charter 88, which invoked the 300th anniversary of the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

in 1688 and the Bill of Rights 1689, accused the executive of misusing its power and argued that a new British Bill of Rights was needed to secure human rights in the United Kingdom. In its manifesto for the 1997 general election, the Labour Party pledged to incorporate the European Convention into domestic law. When the election resulted in a landslide Labour victory, the party, under the leadership of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

, fulfilled the pledge by the Parliament passing the Human Rights Act the following year. The 1997 White Paper "Rights Brought Home" stated:

It takes on average five years to get an action into the European Court of Human Rights once all domestic remedies have been exhausted; and it costs an average of £30,000. Bringing these rights home will mean that the British people will be able to argue for their rights in the British courts – without this inordinate delay and cost.

Structure

The Human Rights Act places a duty on all courts and tribunals in the

to interpret legislation so far as possible in a way compatible with the rights laid down in the

( section 3(1)). If that is not possible, the court may issue a "declaration of incompatibility". The declaration does invalidate the legislation but permits the amendment of the legislation by a special fast-track procedure under section 10 of the Act as well. As of September 2006, 20 declarations had been made, of which six were overturned on appeal. The Human Rights Act applies to all public bodies within the United Kingdom, including central government, local authorities, and bodies exercising public functions. However, it does not include Parliament when it is acting in its legislative capacities.

Section 3

Section 3 is a particularly wide provision that requires courts to interpret both

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

and subordinate legislation so that their provisions are compatible with the articles of the

which are also part of the Human Rights Act.Hoffman, Rowe (2006). p. 58. This interpretation goes far beyond normal statutory interpretation, and includes past and future legislation, therefore preventing the Human Rights Act from being impliedly repealed. Courts have applied this through three forms of interpretation: "reading in", inserting words where there are none in a statute; "reading out", where words are omitted from a statute; and "reading down", where a particular meaning is chosen to be in compliance. They do not interpret a statute so as to give it a meaning that would conflict with legislative intent, and courts have been reluctant in particular to "read out" provisions for this reason. If it is not possible to so interpret, they may issue a declaration of incompatibility under section 4.

Sections 4 and 10

Sections 4 and 10 allow courts to issue a declaration of incompatibility where it is impossible to use section 3 to interpret primary or subordinate legislation to be compatible with the articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, which are also part of the Human Rights Act. In these cases, interpretation to comply may conflict with legislative intent. It is considered a measure of last resort. A range of superior courts can issue a declaration of incompatibility. A declaration of incompatibility is not binding on the parties to the proceedings in which it is made, nor can a declaration invalidate legislation.Hoffman, Rowe (2006). pp. 64.–65. Section 4 therefore achieves its aim through political rather than legal means. Section 10 gives a government minister the power to make a "remedial order" in response to either * a declaration of incompatibility, from which there is no possibility of appeal, or * a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights A remedial order may "make such amendments to the legislation as he Ministerconsiders necessary to remove the incompatibility". Remedial orders do not require full legislative approval, but must be approved by resolutions of each House of Parliament. In especially urgent cases, Parliamentary approval may be retroactive. Remedial orders may have retroactive effect, but no one may be guilty of a criminal offence solely as the result of the retroactive effect of a remedial order. Section 10 has been used to make small adjustments to bring legislation into line with Convention rights although entirely new pieces of legislation are sometimes necessary. As of December 2014, 29 declarations of incompatibility have been issued, of which * 8 have been struck down on appeal * 1 is pending appeal, as of December 2014 * 16 have been remedied through the ordinary legislative process (including amendment or repeal of the offending legislation). * 3 have been addressed through remedial orders * 1 has not been remedied. The one case not to have been remedied, as of December 2014, is ''Smith v. Scott'', concerning the right of serving prisoners to vote in the UK.

Sections 6 to 9

Although the Act, by its own terms, applies only to

public bodies A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in so ...

, it has had increasing influence on private law litigation between individual citizens leading some academics (source?) to state that it has

horizontal effect In law, horizontal effect refers to the ability of legal requirements meant to apply only to public bodies to affect private rights. It arises where a court dealing with a legal dispute between purely private entities interprets a legal provision to ...

(as in disputes between citizens) as well as vertical effect (as in disputes between the state and citizens). This is because section 6(3) of the Human Rights Act defines courts and tribunals as public bodies. That means their judgments must comply with human rights obligations of the state, whether a dispute is between the state and citizens, or between citizens, except in cases of declarations of incompatibility. Therefore, judges have a duty to act in compatibility with the Convention even when an action is a private one between two citizens. The way that public duty is exercised in private law was dealt with in a June 2016 decisio
McDonald_v_McDonald_&_Ors_[2016
/nowiki>_UKSC_28_(15_June_2016).html" ;"title="016">McDonald v McDonald & Ors 016">McDonald_v_McDonald_&_Ors_[2016
/nowiki>_UKSC_28_(15_June_2016)where_the_UK_Supreme_Court_firstly_considered_the_question_''"..._whether_a_court,_when_entertaining_a_claim_for_possession_by_a_private_sector_owner_against_a_residential_occupier,_should_be_required_to_consider_the_proportionality_of_evicting_the_occupier,_in_the_light_of_section_6_of_the_Human_Rights_Act_1998_and_article_8_of_the_European_Convention_on_Human_Rights"'' The_Supreme_Court_decided_(paragraph_46)_that_''"there_are_many_cases_where_the_court_can_be_required_to_balance_conflicting_Convention_rights_of_two_parties,_eg_where_a_person_is_seeking_to_rely_on_her_article_8_rights_to_restrain_a_newspaper_from_publishing_an_article_which_breaches_her_privacy,_and_where_the_newspaper_relies_on_article_10._But_such_disputes_arise_not_from_contractual_arrangements_made_between_two_private_parties,_but_tortious_or_quasi-tortious_relationships,_where_the_legislature_has_expressly,_impliedly_or_through_inaction,_left_it_to_the_courts_to_carry_out_the_balancing_exercise"''. Therefore,_In_cases_''"where_the_parties_are_in_a_contractual_relationship_in_respect_of_which_the_legislature_has_prescribed_how_their_respective_Convention_rights_are_to_be_respected"''_then_the_Court_decided,_as_set_out_in_paragraph_59 ''"In_these_circumstances,_while_we_accept_that_the_Strasbourg_court_jurisprudence_relied_on_by_the_appellant_does_provide_some_support_for_the_notion_that_article_8_was_engaged_when_Judge_Corrie_was_asked_to_make_an_order_for_possession_against_her,_there_is_no_support_for_the_proposition_that_the_judge_could_be_required_to_consider_the_proportionality_of_the_order_which_he_would_have_made_under_the_provisions_of_the_1980_and_1988_Acts._Accordingly,_for_the_reasons_set_out_in_paras_40-46_above,_we_would_dismiss_this_appeal_on_the_first_issue."'' Paragraph_40_supposed_that_''"..._it_is_not_open_to_the_tenant_to_contend_that_article_8_could_justify_a_different_order_from_that_which_is_mandated_by_the_contractual_relationship_between_the_parties,_at_least_where,_as_here,_there_are_legislative_provisions_which_the_democratically_elected_legislature_has_decided_properly_balance_the_competing_interests_of_private_sector_landlords_and_residential_tenants." The_duty_of_state_judges_to_apply_Convention_rights_to_disputes_between_citizens_is_therefore_about_determining_relationships_between_them,_and_applying_domestic_legislation_accordingly._If_the_duty_is_carried_out_then_it's_likely_there_is_Article_6_of_the_European_Convention_on_Human_Rights.html" ;"title="016
/nowiki> UKSC 28 (15 June 2016)">016">McDonald v McDonald & Ors [2016
/nowiki> UKSC 28 (15 June 2016)where the UK Supreme Court firstly considered the question ''"... whether a court, when entertaining a claim for possession by a private sector owner against a residential occupier, should be required to consider the proportionality of evicting the occupier, in the light of section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights"'' The Supreme Court decided (paragraph 46) that ''"there are many cases where the court can be required to balance conflicting Convention rights of two parties, eg where a person is seeking to rely on her article 8 rights to restrain a newspaper from publishing an article which breaches her privacy, and where the newspaper relies on article 10. But such disputes arise not from contractual arrangements made between two private parties, but tortious or quasi-tortious relationships, where the legislature has expressly, impliedly or through inaction, left it to the courts to carry out the balancing exercise"''. Therefore, In cases ''"where the parties are in a contractual relationship in respect of which the legislature has prescribed how their respective Convention rights are to be respected"'' then the Court decided, as set out in paragraph 59 ''"In these circumstances, while we accept that the Strasbourg court jurisprudence relied on by the appellant does provide some support for the notion that article 8 was engaged when Judge Corrie was asked to make an order for possession against her, there is no support for the proposition that the judge could be required to consider the proportionality of the order which he would have made under the provisions of the 1980 and 1988 Acts. Accordingly, for the reasons set out in paras 40-46 above, we would dismiss this appeal on the first issue."'' Paragraph 40 supposed that ''"... it is not open to the tenant to contend that article 8 could justify a different order from that which is mandated by the contractual relationship between the parties, at least where, as here, there are legislative provisions which the democratically elected legislature has decided properly balance the competing interests of private sector landlords and residential tenants." The duty of state judges to apply Convention rights to disputes between citizens is therefore about determining relationships between them, and applying domestic legislation accordingly. If the duty is carried out then it's likely there is Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights">Article 6 compliance. Section 7 limits a right to bring proceedings under section 6 only to victims (or potential victims) of the unlawful act of the public authority. Section 8 provides a right for a court to make any remedy they consider just and appropriate. A remedy under the Act is therefore not limited to a Declaration of incompatibility possibly taking into account the equitable maxim Maxims of equity#Equity delights to do justice and not by halves, Equity delights to do justice and not by halves. Section 9 provides a right to challenge the compliance of judicial acts made by the UK, but only by exercising a right of appeal as set out by the Access to Justice Act 1999 (although not precluding a right to judicial review). For example, whether a judicial act properly applies legislation, or not.

Other Sections

Section 8 says that UK judges can grant any remedy that is considered just and appropriate.

Rights protected

Many rights established under the Human Rights Act 1998 were already protected under UK law (such as freedom), but the purpose of the Act was largely to establish the

in British law. Section 21(5) of the Act completely abolished the death penalty in the United Kingdom, effective on royal assent. The death penalty had already been abolished for all civilian offences, including murder ( Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965) and treason ( Crime and Disorder Act 1998), but remained in force for certain military offences (although these provisions had not been used for several decades). This provision was not required by the European Convention (protocol 6 permits the death penalty in time of war; protocol 13, which prohibits the death penalty for all circumstances, did not then exist); rather, the government introduced it as a late amendment in response to parliamentary pressure. The Act provides that it is unlawful for a "public authority" to act in such a way as to contravene "Convention rights". For these purposes public authority includes any other person "whose functions are functions of a public nature." It also explicitly includes the courts. Convention rights includes only those rights specified in section 1 of the Act (these are recited in full in Schedule 1). In the interpretation of those rights the Act provides that the domestic Courts "may" take into account the jurisprudence of the

(ECtHR). Section 7 enables any person with standing (as stipulated by Article 34 of the convention) to raise an action against a public authority that has acted or proposes to act in such a Convention-contravening manner. This is a more rigorous standard than is ordinarily applied to standing in English, although not Scottish,

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...

. If it is held that the public authority has violated the

claimant A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...

's Convention rights, then the court is empowered to "grant such relief or remedy, or make such order, within its powers as it considers just and appropriate." This can include an award of damages, although the Act provides limitations on the court's capacity to make such an award. However, the Act also provides a defence for public authorities if their Convention violating the act is in pursuance of a mandatory obligation imposed upon them by

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

. The Act envisages that this will ordinarily be a difficult standard to meet though since it requires the courts to read such legislation (and for that matter subordinate legislation) "So far as it is possible to do so…in a way which is compatible with the Convention rights." Where it is impossible to read primary legislation in a Convention compliant manner, the only sanction available to the courts is to make a declaration of incompatibility in respect of it. The power to do so is restricted to the higher courts. Such a declaration has no direct impact upon the continuing force of the legislation but it is likely to produce public pressure upon the government to remove the incompatibility. It also strengthens the case of a claimant armed with such a decision from the domestic courts in any subsequent appeal to ECtHR. In order to provide swift compliance with the convention the Act allows ministers to take remedial action to amend even offending primary

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

via subordinate legislation.

The Articles

The following are the rights protected by the act listed in Schedule One

Part 1

# Right to life ## Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law # Prohibition of torture ## No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment # Prohibition of slavery and forced labour ## No one shall be held in slavery or servitude ## No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour # Right to liberty and security ## Everyone has the right to liberty and security of a person ## Everyone who is arrested shall be informed promptly # Right to a fair trial ## Everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal ## Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty ## Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights ### To be informed promptly ### To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence ### to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require ### to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him ### to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in court # No punishment without law ## No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed # Right to respect for private and family life ## Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence # Freedom of thought, conscience and religion ## Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance # Freedom of expression ## Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers # Freedom of assembly and association # Right to marry ## Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to found a family, # Prohibition of discrimination ## The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status # Restrictions on political activity of aliens # Prohibition of abuse of rights

Part 2

# Protection of property ## Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law # Right to education ## No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions # Right to free elections

Part 3 (replaced by other legislation)

# Abolition of the death penalty # Death penalty in times of war

Notable human rights case law

Lee Clegg Sergeant Lee Clegg (born c. 1969) is a British Army soldier who was convicted of murder for his involvement in the shooting dead of one teenage joyrider in West Belfast, Northern Ireland. His conviction was later overturned. Shooting The shootin ...

's murder conviction gave rise to the first case invoking the Act, brought by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' in October 2000 which sought to overturn a libel ruling against the newspaper. * '' Campbell v. MGN Ltd.'' 002EWCA Civ 1373, Naomi Campbell and Sara Cox both sought to assert their right to privacy under the Act. Both cases were successful for the complainant (Campbell's on the second attempt; Cox's attempt was not judicially decided but an out of court settlement was reached before the issue could be tested in court) and an amendment to British law to incorporate a provision for privacy is expected to be introduced. * '' Venables and Thompson v. News Group Newspapers'' 0011 All ER 908, the James Bulger murder case tested whether the Article 8 (privacy) rights of Venables and Thomson, the convicted murderers of Bulger, applied when four newspapers sought to publish their new identities and whereabouts, using their Article 10 rights of freedom of expression. The judge,

Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss Ann Elizabeth Oldfield Butler-Sloss, Baroness Butler-Sloss, GBE, PC (''née'' Havers; born 10 August 1933), is a retired English judge. She was the first female Lord Justice of Appeal and was the highest-ranking female judge in the United King ...

, granted permanent global injunctions ordering that the material not be published because of the disastrous consequences such disclosure might have for the former convicts, not least the possibility of physical harm or death (hence claims for Article 2 rights (right to life) were entertained, and sympathised with). * '' A and Others v. Secretary of State for the Home Department'' [2004
UKHL 56
on 16 December 2004, the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

held that Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, under whose powers a number of non-UK nationals were detained in Belmarsh Prison, was incompatible with the Human Rights Act. This precipitated the enactment of the

Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (c 2) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, intended to deal with the Law Lords' ruling of 16 December 2004 that the detention without trial of eight foreigners (known as the 'Belmarsh 8') at H ...

to replace Part 4 of the 2001 Act. * ''R. v. Chauhan and Hollingsworth'': Amesh Chauhan and Dean Hollingsworth were photographed by a speed camera in 2000. As is standard practice for those caught in this way, they were sent a form by the police asking them to identify who was driving the vehicle at the time. They protested under the Human Rights Act, arguing that they could not be required to give evidence against themselves. An initial judgment, by Judge Peter Crawford at Birmingham Crown Court, ruled in their favour but this was later reversed. The same issue came to light in Scotland with ''Procurator Fiscal v Brown'' 000UKPC D3, in which a woman, when apprehended on suspicion of theft of a bottle of gin, was drunk and was asked by police to identify who had been driving her car (which was nearby) at the time she arrived at the superstore. * '' Price v. Leeds City Council'' 005 On 16 March 2005 the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court ruling that Leeds City Council could not infringe the right to a home of a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

family, the Maloneys, by evicting them from public land. The court however referred the case to the

as this decision conflicted with a ruling from the

(ECtHR). * ''An NHS Trust v MB'': In March 2006, the High Court in London ruled against a hospital's bid to turn off the ventilator that kept the child, known as Baby MB, alive. The 19-month-old baby has the genetic condition

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common genet ...

, which leads to almost total paralysis. The parents of the child fought for his right to life, despite claims from medics that the invasive ventilation would cause an 'intolerable life'. * '' Connors v. UK'', a judgment given by ECtHR, declared that travellers who had their licences to live on local authority-owned land suddenly revoked had been discriminated against, in comparison to the treatment of mobile-home owners who did not belong to the traveller population, and thus their Article 14 (protection from discrimination) and Article 8 (right to respect for the home) rights had been infringed. However, there has never been a case where the Act has been successfully invoked to allow travellers to remain on greenbelt land, and indeed the prospects of this ever happening seem highly unlikely after the

decision in '' Kay v Lambeth LBC'' which severely restricted the occasions on which Article 8 may be invoked to protect someone from eviction in the absence of some legal right over the land. * '' Afghan hijackers case 2006'', in May 2006, a politically controversial decision regarding the treatment of nine Afghan men who hijacked a plane to flee from the Taliban, caused widespread condemnation by many

tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid an ...

newspapers (most notably '' The Sun''), the broadsheets and the leaders of both the Labour Party and the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. It was ruled by an

Immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

Tribunal, under the Human Rights Act, that the hijackers could remain in the United Kingdom; a subsequent court decision ruled that the government had abused its power in restricting the hijackers' right to work. * ''

Mosley v News Group Newspapers Limited ''Mosley v News Group Newspapers'' 008EWHC 1777 (QB) was an English High Court case in which the former President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, Max Mosley, challenged the '' News of the World''. The newspaper had exposed ...

'' (2008), Max Mosley challenged an invasion of his private life after the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one ...

'' exposed his involvement in a

sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

sex act. The case resulted in Mr Mosley being awarded £60,000 in damages.

Criticism

Excessive rights

During the campaign for the 2005 parliamentary elections the Conservatives under Michael Howard declared their intention to "overhaul or scrap" the Human Rights Act:

The time had come to liberate the nation from the avalanche of
political correctness ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
, costly litigation, feeble justice, and culture of compensation running riot in Britain today and warning that the politically correct regime ushered in by Labour's enthusiastic adoption of human rights legislation has turned the age-old principle of fairness on its head.

The schoolboy
arsonist Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, water ...
allowed back into the classroom because enforcing discipline apparently denied his right to education; the convicted rapist given £4000 compensation because his second
appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
was delayed; the burglar given taxpayers' money to sue the man whose house he broke into; travellers who thumb their nose at the law allowed to stay on
green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which h ...
sites they have occupied in defiance of planning laws.

The schoolboy referred to was speculatively suing for compensation and was a university student at the time of the court case. In addition, the claim was rejected.

Judicial powers

Constitutional critics since the Human Rights Bill was tabled at parliament claimed it would result in the unelected judiciary making substantive judgments about government policies and "mass-legislating" in their amendments to the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

resulting in a usurpation of Parliament's legislative supremacy and an expansion of the UK courts' justiciability. A leading case of '' R (on the application of Daly) v Secretary of State for the Home Department'' highlights how the new proportionality test borrowed from ECtHR jurisprudence has allowed a greater scrutiny of the substantive merits of decisions of public bodies, meaning that actions against such bodies, Judicial Reviews, are more of an appeal than a traditional judicial review. They stress the overriding interpretative obligation of courts under section 3(1) of the Human Rights Act to read primary legislation as Convention-compliant, so far as is possible, is not dependent upon the presence of ambiguity in legislation.Craig, Administrative Law, 6th ed p560 Section 3(1) could require the court to depart from the unambiguous meaning that legislation would otherwise bear subject to the constraint that this modified interpretation must be one "possible" interpretation of the legislation. Paul Craig argues that this results in the courts adopting linguistically strained interpretations instead of issuing declarations of incompatibility.

Journalistic freedom

In 2008,

Paul Dacre Paul Michael Dacre (; born 14 November 1948) is an English journalist and the former long-serving editor of the British right-wing tabloid the '' Daily Mail''. He is also editor-in-chief of DMG Media, which publishes the ''Daily Mail'', '' The ...

(as editor of the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'') criticised the Human Rights Act for allowing, in effect, a right to privacy at English law despite the fact that Parliament has not passed such legislation. He was referring to the indirect horizontal effect of the Human Rights Act on the doctrine of

breach of confidence The tort of breach of confidence is, in United States law, a common law tort that protects private information that is conveyed in confidence. A claim for breach of confidence typically requires the information to be of a confidential nature, wh ...

which has moved

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, b ...

closer towards a

right to privacy. In response, the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

Lord Falconer Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, (born 19 November 1951) is a British Labour peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007. Born i ...

stated that the Human Rights Act had been passed by Parliament, that people's private lives needed protection and that the judge in the case had interpreted relevant authorities correctly.

Inadequacy

In contrast, some have argued that the Human Rights Act does not give adequate protection to rights because of the ability for the government to derogate from Convention rights under article 15. Recent cases such as ''

R (ProLife Alliance) v. BBC ''R (ProLife Alliance) v. BBC'' was a House of Lords case on the extent to which matters of good taste and decency are sufficient to justify the censorship of a party political broadcast. The ProLife Alliance had submitted a video that showed the ...

'' 002EWCA Civ 297 have been decided in reference to common law rights rather than statutory rights. Where there is no clear

precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great v ...

in the

, judges remain accused of judicial activism.

Terrorism-related complaints

Some politicians in the two largest parties, including some ministers, have criticised the Human Rights Act as to the willingness of the judiciary to make declarations on incompatibility against terrorism legislation. Baron Reid argued that the Act was hampering the fight against global terrorism in regard to controversial control orders:

There is a very serious threat – and I am the first to admit that the means we have of fighting it are so inadequate that we are fighting with one arm tied behind our backs. So I hope when we bring forward proposals in the next few weeks that we will have a little less party politics and a little more support for national security.

Planned replacement

In 2007, Howard's successor as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

, David Cameron, vowed to repeal the Human Rights Act if he was elected, instead replacing it with a "Bill of Rights" for Britain. The human rights organisation

JUSTICE Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

released a discussion paper entitled ''A Bill of Rights for Britain?'', examining the case for updating the Human Rights Act with an entrenched bill. Following the 2010 general election, the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement said that the Human Rights Act would be investigated. In 2011, following controversial rulings from both the

(ECtHR) and the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ( initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...

, David Cameron suggested a "British Bill of Rights". The government commission set up to investigate the case for a Bill of Rights had a split of opinion. Judge Dean Spielmann, the President of ECtHR, warned in 2013 that the United Kingdom could not withdraw from the Convention on Human Rights without jeopardising its membership of the European Union. In 2014, the

planned to repeal the Act and replace it with a "British Bill of Rights". Following the 2015 election win for the Conservative Party, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Justice, was charged with implementing the reforms which were previously blocked by the Liberal Democrats in the coalition government. The Conservative Party manifesto said that the new bill will "break the formal link between British Courts and the European Court of Human Rights". As before 1998, claims relying on ECtHR jurisprudence which conflicted with the "British Bill of Rights" would have to go to a court in Strasbourg rather than being able to be heard in the UK. However, the Conservatives' manifesto from the next general election in 2017 pledged to retain the Human Rights Act "while the process of

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...

is underway".Conservative manifesto, 2017
/ref>

References

External links

Fifty Human Rights Cases That Transformed Britain – Infographic

A New British Bill of Rights: The Case For

Human Rights Act 1998 Leaflet
with detailed information from ''Community Legal Service Direct''.
The Human Rights Act – Exploding the Myths
by Liberty (pressure group), Liberty
A table of all of the declarations of incompatibility which the courts have made as of 1 August 2006
from the Department for Constitutional Affairs
The Impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on Policing in England and Wales
{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1998 Constitutional laws of the United Kingdom Human rights in the United Kingdom Human rights legislation