StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The essay "Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act" evaluates to what extent has a Human Rights Act transformed the protection of individual rights in the UK. The UK’s constitution is neither codified nor written. The national law operates on its own in the absence of a written constitution…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.4% of users find it useful
Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act"

Individual Rights and the Human Rights Act The United Kingdom’s constitution is neither codified nor written. The national law operates on its own in the absence of a written constitution. Despite this, the people have individual rights, and Britain has long standing tradition, whereby the rights and civil liberties of UK citizens have been accorded protection. This tradition creates an environment in which the legal position of such civil rights is always a debatable matter. It is also uncertain as to the extent the people have these liberties, if any conflict arises between the unwritten liberties and the extant legislation. The European Convention on Human Rights which was formed in the year 1950 has been an international agreement, which has kept the UK bound by the ECHR. The UK adopted and integrated the ECHR in its national legislation, and operates in compliance with the provisions of the ECHR. As such, the ECHR protects the fundamental civil and political rights of all citizens of the European Union1. The UK enacted the Human Rights Act in the year 2000 and adapted the provisions of the ECHR in it. The courts in the UK have to respect the human rights laid down by the act. In the absence of a written constitution, the Human Rights Act protects the fundamental rights and civil liberties. The underlying objective of this Act is to comply with the rights provided by the ECHR, wherever possible. Therefore, the Human Rights Act strengthens the scope of the ECHR rights. The Human Rights Act strives hard to protect the fundamental rights of all citizens of the UK. The act ensures that an individual’s rights do not interfere with the rights of other individuals. On the other hand, the interests of the community should be treated as a whole. The ECHR also considered this aspect while drafting the Convention rights. Articles 8 to 11 of the ECHR provide that the community’s interests are protected. The first part of these Articles established the rights and the second part deals with the limitations of these rights2. The English courts have to follow the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and interpret them in the cases coming before them. The Human Rights Act ensures that the Parliament invariably takes into account, while proposing legislation, that balance is maintained between individual’s rights and the interests of the community. Furthermore, the Human Rights Act also requires the English courts to comply with the legislation enacted by Parliament. It permits the High Courts or the Supreme Court to disallow any law that is in breach of the Convention rights, and any a law that is incompatible with the ECHR provisions. It is the responsibility of the Parliament to review such conflicting laws and to amend them. As such the Human Rights Act balances the individual’s rights, the duties of the lawmakers and the judiciary3. All public authorities should ensure that their activities with regard to human rights are compatible with the ECHR provisions and fall within the scope of the Acts of Parliament. Prior to the Human Rights Act, the governmental authorities had to frequently review the existing laws and procedures, in order to ensure that they were compatible with the standards of human rights. Government Departments had to search out the best possible ways to protect human rights and respect Convention rights4. The Human Rights Act attempts to make the people realize the practicability of their rights. This led to understanding between the people and the government departments, which enabled them to cooperate with the state bodies. The overall effect was to engender openness and active participation of the people in the democratic process. This served to further promote the unity and integrity of society. The government widely publicized the importance of Human Rights Act, which led every individual to realize their basic rights. With this knowledge, people have come forward to complain against any decision of the government that violates their rights. Instances of such complaints can be seen with regard to the unwarranted interference of the government with the right to respect for private life and family life. Therefore, considerable public attention was brought to bear on the unlawful activities of public authorities, which could result in the breach of their human rights5. In the Diane Pretty case, Diane Pretty sought assisted suicide with the help of her husband. She filed a petition to the Director of Public Prosecution to allow her husband to do so and requested an undertaking from him, whereby her husband would not be prosecuted for having assisted her in committing suicide. The Director refused to do so. She brought the matter before the court. The court held that her request conflicted with the provisions of the ECHR and there were no such right to euthanasia provided by the ECHR6. In another case, the court turned down the appeal of the plaintiffs, which had challenged the Hunting Act 2004 and contended that it was in violation of the Human Rights Act. The court ruled that the plaintiffs were precluded from invoking Article 8 of the ECHR. The court also clarified that even if the Convention rights could be invoked, the court would hold that the interference of the Hunting Act 2004 with human rights is justified and cannot be challenged7. There are several cases that challenged interference with human rights. For instance the courts held that the existing statutes, with regard to the supply of water8, the regulation of the profession of the lawyers9, and the gathering and preserving of embryos by health care clinics10 were compatible and compliant with the ECHR provisions. In R (Begum) v Denbigh High School, the House of Lords decided that the refusal of school management to permit the plaintiff to wear a jilbab in school would cause interference with the principles of Article 9 ECHR. However, such interference could be justified11. Similarly, the constitutional right of freedom of expression was constantly being interfered with by the libel laws. This would be in breach of Article 10 ECHR12. These cases establish that the Human Rights Act is reliant on the common law principles to a certain extent. Thus the courts recognize the element of common law constitutional rights in cases invoking the European Convention on Human Rights. In A (No.2) v Home Secretary, the House of Lords concluded that the Special Immigration Appeals Commission and courts could not allow evidence that had been obtained through torture, which was based on common law. However, the courts could allow evidence obtained through the Human Rights Law13. The Human Rights Act protects individuals from both mental and physical torture, inhuman punishment, degrading treatment and any sort of deportation or extradition. The Act requires governmental authorities to abstain from inflicting such inhuman treatments on individuals. In Z v United Kingdom, it was alleged that a public authority had failed to protect four children by procrastinating in bringing about their separation from their mother. The children were subjected to unbearable abuse and neglect for more than four years. The Court ruled that there was a positive obligation on the authority, which required him to remove the children. It also opined that the authority had violated Article 3 ECHR provision for having failed to separate them from their mother, immediately on coming to know that the children were being subjected to torture14. In another case a woman, addicted to heroin and suffering from asthma, was sentenced to four months imprisonment. While serving the sentence, she developed heroin withdrawal symptoms; but the nursing staff in the prison, did not call the doctor or shift her to a hospital. She died to delayed medical attention. The Court found the jail staff to have been guilty of gross negligence and of having subjected the deceased to inhuman treatment15. In Harrow LBC v Qazi, the House of Lords held that the plaintiffs could not invoke Article 8 ECHR, since it does not provide a right to home. However, it does provide a right to respect for a person’s home, along the lines of the right to privacy16. In Douglas v. Hello, the Court of Appeal stressed the need for developing wider scope of applicability for privacy rights17. In contrast to this decision, the House of Lords in Secretary of State for the Home Department v. Wainwright held that the English law did not provide any cause of action for invasion of privacy18. Campbell v. Mirror Group. In this case the House of Lords held that reporters and journalists should shoulder the responsibility for their articles relating to strictly confidential matters, and that the publication of such intimate and purely personal information would entail serious and adverse consequences19. The human rights law provides special protection to victims. In addition, their objective is to ensure that no person is deprived of respect and his dignity. Several cases have clearly established that it is essential to prevent physical and mental harm to victims, and to safeguard their privacy and prevent their being browbeaten in the court. Nevertheless, on occasion, in order to comply with the provisions of the Human Rights Act; the government can and should interfere with the individual rights so as to ensure the safety of society at large. Bibliography 1. A (No.2) v Home Secretary ([2005] 3 WLR 1249 2. Campbell v Mirror Group (2004) 2 WLR 1232 3. Department for Constitutional Affairs, October 2006. A Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998. Retrieved 03 March, 2008. 4. Douglas v Hello (2001) QB 967 5. Evans v Amicus Healthcare [2005] Fam 1 6. Harrow LBC v Qazi (2003) 3 WLR 792 7. Holder v Law Society [2003] 1 WLR 1059 8. Marcic v Thames Water [2004] 2 AC 42 9. Mc Glinchey and Others v. the United Kingdom, no. 50390/99, 29 April 2003 10. R (Begum) v Denbigh High School ([2006] 2 WLR 719 11. R (Countryside Alliance) v Attorney-General [2006] EWCA Civ 817 12. R (Pretty) v DPP [2002] 1 AC 800 13. Reynolds v Times Newspapers [2001] 2 AC 127 14. Secretary of State for Home Department v Wainwright (2003) 2 WLR 1137 15. Z v United Kingdom [2001] 2 FCR 246 Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words, n.d.)
Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words. https://studentshare.org/law/1544815-to-what-extent-has-a-human-rights-act-transformed-the-protection-of-the-idividual-rights-in-the-uk
(Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 Words)
Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 Words. https://studentshare.org/law/1544815-to-what-extent-has-a-human-rights-act-transformed-the-protection-of-the-idividual-rights-in-the-uk.
“Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 Words”. https://studentshare.org/law/1544815-to-what-extent-has-a-human-rights-act-transformed-the-protection-of-the-idividual-rights-in-the-uk.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Individual Rights under the Human Rights Act

Human Rights: Atala Riffo and Daughters vs Chile

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: human rights: Case of Atala Riffo and Daughters Vs Chile.... In November 1969, social activists and legal experts successfully created a legal documentation system dubbed American Convention on human rights.... In this case, the convention bounds responsibilities to state authorities meant to ensure continued respect of basic human rights in their operations.... After finalizing all articles in the convention, appropriate legal systems took over as the guardians of human rights; hence are responsible for conducting legal contentions relating to the conventions' provisions....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Public Order Act 1986

Failing to adhere to the stated conditions is an offence entailing arrest under the common law.... Besides the Public Order Act 1986, there are various other provisions such as the stop and search provisions created under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 19843 and the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA)4 that prohibit protests and demonstrations in specific areas without prior notification and permission.... Discussion Under provisions made by the ECHR, the Home Office and the police are under obligations to comply with the rights set out in the treaty; however, at the same time the provisions under the UK common law are also taken into consideration....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Law: Civil Liberties and Human Rights

K is signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights, 1966.... There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others It is in context of this small Article that the paper tries to discuss the changes in...
18 Pages (4500 words) Essay

Human Rights Act of 1998

[of the human rights act 1998]that the[European Convention on Human Rights] has, in one sense, a lower status than ordinary statutes in that it cannot AUTOMATICALLY override pre existing law” In order to understand the Act of Human Rights, it is important… Human rights has become an important standard in British politics.... The modern concept of human rights in the UK came about at the end of World War II, when The Nuremburg trials shocked most of the world, including the United Kingdom, when the terrible treatment of human beings was revealed to the world....
20 Pages (5000 words) Essay

Human Rights and State

Secondly, the human rights act 1998 (Designated Derogation) Order 2001 (SI 2001/3644) ("the Derogation Order") was passed.... At present, the human rights act 1998, the Terrorism Act 2000, The Anti-terrorism, Security and Crime Act 2001 and Prevention of Terrorism Act adopted in 2005 are in force specifically to meet the challenges posed by the terrorist threat to the United Kingdom.... The paper "human rights and State " states that generally speaking, in R (Begum) v Governors of Denbigh High School [2006] UKHL 15, the question before the House of Lords was whether the dress on which a student was insistent would be allowed in her school....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Universal Human Rights

For the first time, the UDHR recognized the Universal Human Rights of the of the of the the human rights Commission was established in the year 1947 by the United Nations (UN).... It also became clear that the international community had to closely supervise the human rights of people inside their country.... Its task was to draft the Universal Declaration of human rights (UDHR).... The UN adopted the UDHR on 10 December… This is to be achieved by the universal recognition and respect for human rights....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Effects of Article 5 in the UK

Limited means that a person can be denied the rights under the provisions of article 51.... Any limitation to the article should follow the guidelines stated under the articles.... under the terrorism prevention and investigation strategies, article 5 imposes significant restrictions to suspects of terror crimes.... It allows for individual rights to liberty while at the same time guarding against commitment of a crime through its provision....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The Impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on Individuals

The paper "The Impact of the human rights act 1998 on Individuals" states that the margin of appreciation afforded by the HRA 1998 has resulted in an inconsistency in application with the qualified applicants for ECHR rights in certain circumstances.... Article 8 of the ECHR specifically deals with the right to privacy, and the approach of the European Court of human rights in Strasbourg has used Article 8 to address matters of sexual privacy, which has led to incidental protection of homosexuals and transsexuals....
11 Pages (2750 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us