Human rights. The 1998 Act and the European Convention

Book abstract:

This book focuses on the 1998 United Kingdom Human Rights Act and its interplay with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The emphasis in the first part of the book is on the Human Rights Act 1998. The first two chapters discuss how the Act will operate in practice, its constitutional status, and how it fits into the existing body of our statutory and common law. The impact of the strong interpretative obligation in the Act directing courts to give effect to legislation in a way that is compatible with the European Convention rights is also examined as well as the scope of the obligation on public authorities to comply with these, and whether, and if so how, the Convention rights may have a horizontal effect. While dealing with a new Act as yet untested in the courts, the authors have sought to identify areas of dispute, to present the arguments in a balanced way and to suggest a way forward.

In Part II, the Convention principles are covered in detail with individual sections examining each article of the Convention. This is followed by a detailed description of the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Commission and Court.

For the most part, the book takes account of decisions up to 1 August 1999. However, there is also brief treatment of the decision of the Court of Human Rights in Smith & Grady v United Kingdom and the decisions of the House of Lords in R v D.p.p., ex parte Kebeline and Fitzpatrick v Sterling House Association.

The book is intended to be a handbook for those working within the new system. It may also be useful to EC law students particularly concerned with the field of human rights.