H um an Rights Act 1998

W hat are hum an rights ?

W hat are hum an rights ?

The Human Rights Act 1998 (c42) is an Act of Parliament of the
United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998,
and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000.
Human rights are rights and freedoms that belong to all individuals
regardless of their nationality and citizenship. They are
fundamentally important in maintaining a fair and civilized society .
Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the
European Convention on Human Rights.
All public bodies (such as courts, police, local governments,
hospitals, publicly funded schools, and others) and other bodies
carrying out public functions have to comply with the Convention
rights.

The H istory of H um an Rights

The Convention was drafted by the Council of Europe
after World War II.
Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe 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 European Convention on Human
Rights.
It was designed to incorporate a traditional civil liberties
approach to securing "effective political democracy", from
the strong traditions of freedom and liberty in the United

The H istory of H um an Rights

1948 - After the second World War , there came an important realisation
that although fundamental rights should be respected as a matter of
course, without formal protection human rights concepts are of little use to
those facing persecution. The result was the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, one of the most important agreements in the history of
human rights.
1950 - The European Convention on Human Rights was agreed in the
aftermath of the Second World War. British lawyers played an
instrumental role in the development of the Convention, and the UK
signed up in 1951.
1966 - Granting of the right of individual petition .
1997 - A white paper entitled rights brought home , a human rights bill .
1998 - Enacted by a youthful Labour Government in 1998, the Human

W hat does the H um an Rights Act do ?

It makes the human rights contained in the ECHR
enforceable in UK law. This means that it is unlawful for a
public authority to act in a way that is incompatible with
a Convention right. Anyone who feels that one or more of
their rights has been breached by a public authority can
raise the matter in an appropriate court or tribunal. If they
are unhappy with the courts decision and have pursued
the issue as far as it can go in the UK, they may take their
complaint to the European Court of Human Rights.

W hat are the Convention Rights ?

There are 16 basic rights in the Human Rights Act all
taken from the European Convention on Human Rights.
They concern matters of life and death, like freedom from
torture and being killed, but they also cover rights in
everyday life, such as what a person can say and do,
their beliefs, their right to a fair trial and many other
similar basic entitlements.

The Act sets out the fundam entalrights and freedom s that individuals in the U K have access to. They include:

Right to life
Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment
Right to liberty and security
Freedom from slavery and forced labor
Right to a fair trial
No punishment without law
Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence
Freedom of thought, belief and religion
Freedom of expression
Freedom of assembly and association
Right to marry and start a family
Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and
freedoms
Right to peaceful enjoyment of your property
Right to education
Right to participate in free elections

Can hum an rights ever be restricted ?

Sometimes especially if there is a real and serious
danger to public safety. Not all Convention rights carry the
same weight. They can be grouped into three broad types
:
Absolute rights
Limited rights
Qualified rights

 Absolute rights such as the right to protection from torture and

inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3). The state can never
withhold or take away these rights.
Limited rights such as the right to liberty (Article 5). These rights may
be limited under explicit and finite circumstances.
Qualified rights rights which require a balance between the rights of
the individual and the needs of the wider community or state interest.
These include: the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8);
the right to manifest ones religion or beliefs (Article 9); freedom of
expression (Article 10); freedom of assembly and association (Article
11); the right to peaceful enjoyment of property (Protocol 1, Article1);
and, to some extent, the right to education (Protocol 1, Article 2)

W hy is it im portant to have your rights

protected ?
Human rights are the basic rights and freedom to which
all human beings are entitled.
They focus on the dignity of human beings .
They protect individuals and group .

The End