5. The Human Rights Act 1998 (2): proceedings and remedies

2021 ◽  
pp. 114-129
Author(s):  
Howard Davis

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter continues the analysis of the Human Rights Act. It discusses how cases can be brought under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and what remedies are available from the courts if a violation of a Convention right is found. The aim here is to delve deeper into the issue of how the rights of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are given further effect in the law of the UK by the HRA. The main issues discussed in the chapter include the importance of remedies and Article 13 ECHR—the right to a remedy, procedural issues for seeking remedies under the HRA, and remedies available under the HRA.

2021 ◽  
pp. 433-447
Author(s):  
Howard Davis

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. It discusses European Convention law and relates it to domestic law under the HRA. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter considers the application of Convention rights in the field of prisoners’ rights; the impact of Convention rights on prisoners in the UK is considered. Prisoners remain within the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights, though the application of these rights will take their position into account. Prisoners’ rights include not only rights to the non-arbitrary loss of liberty (Article 5) and rights to fair procedures (Articles 5 and 6), but also not to be disproportionately denied the rights and freedoms in Articles 8–11. Imprisonment deprives individuals of their liberty and, therefore, is a public function for which the state is responsible under the Convention. The controversy over prisoners’ right to vote is discussed in Chapter 25.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 317-368
Author(s):  
Karen Morrow

The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) (ECHR) regime has, in the absence of specific coverage of environmental rights, developed a “creative” approach in its jurisprudence in this area, pressing a variety of other rights, notably: Article 6 (the right to a fair hearing); Article 8 (the right to privacy and family life); and Article 1 to the First Protocol of the ECHR (the right to enjoyment of property) into service. This creativity has achieved much in according indirect protection to individuals in this regard, but has also placed additional pressure on the already congested Convention system. The entry into force of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) made long-held rights under the ECHR directly accessible in domestic law in the United Kingdom. This naturally spawned a wave of litigation. One of the most prominently litigated areas concerned the pursuit of a variety of environment-based rights claims. In the intervening decade, the application of the ECHR to environmental claims in the UK courts has generated somewhat mixed results. This is in part a result of the “patchwork” approach that has developed toward environmental claims within the Convention regime itself, but it is also a product of the nature of the relationship between the ECHR and domestic law and the content and ethos of both regimes. This article will conclude by briefly considering the on-going role of the ECHR regime in environmental cases in light of subsequent developments in this area of law, notably under the Aarhus Convention.


Author(s):  
Duncan Fairgrieve ◽  
Dan Squires QC

The following chapter examines claims that can be brought under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). The HRA makes it unlawful for a ‘public authority’ to breach the European Convention on Human Rights (‘the Convention’). The HRA accords to the victims of a breach of the Convention the right to pursue a claim against the offending public authority in the UK courts, when previously they were required to apply to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to vindicate their Convention rights.


Author(s):  
Maureen Spencer ◽  
John Spencer

This chapter introduces the principles and key concepts underlying the law of evidence, with an emphasis on criminal evidence. It first explains the distinction between the law of evidence and evidence itself before turning to a discussion of fair trial by looking at Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), now part of English law as a result of the Human Rights Act 1998. The chapter then considers the main provisions related to evidence, including the presumption of innocence; privilege against self-incrimination; the right to examine witnesses; and admissibility of evidence obtained through covert surveillance, entrapment, or disclosure. It concludes by highlighting the importance of analysis of the relevance of the facts in a trial.


2021 ◽  
pp. 66-113
Author(s):  
Howard Davis

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter traces the origins of the Human Rights Act, which came about due to a growing sense that UK law was failing to secure and keep pace with emerging international standards of human rights protection. It goes on thoroughly to explain, analyse, and illustrate the main terms of the Act. In particular the duty to interpret statutes for compatibility, if possible, with Convention rights; and the duty on ‘public authorities’ to act in ways which do not violate Convention rights. It considers the new constitutional settlement that the Act brings about and it discusses some of the controversies about its application that have arisen. The final section deals with possible reform.


2021 ◽  
pp. 50-65
Author(s):  
Howard Davis

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter focuses on the European Convention on Human Rights, which the UK signed in 1950, and on its impact in the UK prior to the Human Rights Act coming into force in October 2000. The UK’s signing of the Convention entailed the country’s acceptance of the obligation to ‘secure for everyone within [its] jurisdiction the rights and freedoms in Section 1 of this Convention’. The Convention is not applied directly by the UK courts. The Convention remains part of international law, which is not directly enforceable in UK courts. The chapter also considers the development of fundamental common law rights which have developed in parallel to the Convention. There is a section on ‘Brexit’ and its impact on the protection of human rights in the UK.


Author(s):  
Mark Lunney ◽  
Donal Nolan ◽  
Ken Oliphant

The right of privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights was incorporated into English law by the Human Rights Act 1998, but English law as yet recognises no tort of invasion of privacy as such. Admittedly, a number of specific torts protect particular aspects of privacy, but this protection may be regarded as haphazard, incidental, and incomplete. Recent decisions, however, have seen substantial developments in the protection given to particular privacy interests, above all by adapting the law of breach of confidence to provide a remedy against the unauthorised disclosure of personal information. These issues are discussed in this chapter.


Author(s):  
John Stanton ◽  
Craig Prescott

One of the most fundamental aspects of any constitution are the provisions and measures that protect the rights and freedoms of individuals. In the UK, rights protection is markedly different to that in America, in chief because there is no entrenched Bill of Rights. Rights protection is dominated by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), incorporated by the Human Rights Act 1998, which sets out a number of positive rights that are actionable in the UK courts This chapter discusses the ways in which these rights are protected in the UK Constitution. It discusses the courts' historic civil liberties approach and common law protection of rights, before then examining the development, incorporation, and application of the ECHR. The chapter also explores the way in which the various sections of the Human Rights Act 1998 work to ensure appropriate enforcement and protection of rights in UK law.


2019 ◽  
pp. 10-36
Author(s):  
Maureen Spencer ◽  
John Spencer

This chapter focuses on the burden of proof and presumption of innocence in criminal and civil cases under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It considers the influence of the UK’s Human Rights Act 1998 on the allocation of the burden of proof and compares legal/persuasive burden of proof with the evidential burden. It contains a detailed examination of the case law under this Act and the criteria developed to assess where reverse burdens should apply. It draws on academic commentary in making this analysis. It also looks at situations where the legal and the evidential burden may be split. It concludes with an overview of the law on presumptions.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Maureen Spencer ◽  
John Spencer

This chapter introduces the principles and key concepts underlying the law of evidence, with an emphasis on criminal evidence. It reviews Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), now part of English law as a result of the Human Rights Act 1998. It concludes by highlighting the importance of analysis of the relevance of the facts in a trial.


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