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 be consistent with certain legal norms in such a way as to affect the legal rights and obligations of the parties before it.
Examples
In
European Union law
European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...
under the doctrine of
direct effect
In European Union law, direct effect is the principle that Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights on individuals which the courts of member states of the European Union are bound to recognise and enforce.
Direct effect is not ex ...
, national courts are under a legal duty to interpret national laws to be consistent with EU laws which the member state concerned has either not implemented or not implemented correctly. The ability of such interpretations to affect the legal rights and duties of purely private entities is called horizontal direct effect. Normally, direct effect is only vertical, in that it is meant to apply to the state and its emanations (i.e., to public sector employers).
In 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 North ...
, in Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers, the House of Lords found that while the
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent 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 Con ...
cannot create new causes of action between individuals, "if there is a relevant cause of action, the court as a public authority must act compatibly with both parties' Convention rights."
[per Baroness Hale.]
See also
*
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent 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 Con ...
*
Direct effect
In European Union law, direct effect is the principle that Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights on individuals which the courts of member states of the European Union are bound to recognise and enforce.
Direct effect is not ex ...
*
Vertical effect
Vertical effect refers to, in English law, the way in which the Human Rights Act impacts on the relationship between individual citizens and the state. The Human Rights Act states that the Act applies to public bodies meaning that any citizens sa ...
Notes
Further reading and external links
* J. Morgan, ‘Privacy in the House of Lords, Again’ (2004) 120 Law Quarterly Review 563.
An explanation of the term from yourrights.org
European Union law
Human rights legislation
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