3.5 Human Rights

Content

Additional information

Rules in Human Rights lawRules and principles of law relating to the right to life, to liberty and security of person, to privacy, to freedom of expression, and to freedom of assembly and association, as regonised by the European Convention on Human Rights and in the United Kingdom.

Theory in Human Rights

  • Theories of rights.
  • Rights contrasted with liberties.
  • The scope of ‘fundamental human’ rights.

Human Rights in international law

The Second World War and its aftermath.

The United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.

The Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights 1953.

Human Rights in the United Kingdom prior to the Human Rights Act 1998

The status of the European Convention on Human Rights in the United Kingdom, and the impact of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

Human Rights in the United Kingdom after the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998

Extent and method of incorporation and interpretation of the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Impact on constitutional arrangements and on law in the United Kingdom including entrenched nature of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the devolutionary settlement of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Criticisms of Human Rights.

The European Convention on Human Rights 1953

Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1953

Article 2.1: right to life

Article 2.2: justified exceptions.

Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1953

Article 5.1: right to liberty and security of person.

Article 5.1a–5.1c: justified deprivation of liberty – lawful arrest or detention.

Article 5.2–5.5: additional requirements to justify deprivation of liberty in cases of lawful arrest or detention.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1953

Article 8.1: right to respect for private and family life, his home and for his correspondence.

Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1953

Article 10.1: right to freedom of expression.

  • Receive information and ideas.
  • Communicate information and ideas.
Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1953

Article 11.1: right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others.

Restrictions

Article 8.2, Article 10.2 and Article 11.2: restrictions on the rights under Article 8.1, Article 10.1 and Article 11.1.

General requirements relating to restrictions.

Enforcement

Claims before the European Court of Human Rights; the role of domestic courts; the effect of decisions on states and claimants.

The process of judicial review.

Human Rights and English law

The right to life: an outline of criminal and civil law provisions and investigatory procedures.
  • Homicide and associated offences (including thre defence of self-defence/prevention of crime).
  • Obligations on police and others in planning dangerous operations.
  • Protective policing.
  • Civil law negligence.
  • Independent investigation of deaths in custody or attributable to agents of the State.

Deprivation of liberty.

Privacy and communication: criminal and civil law provisions which protect or restrict the rights.

Expression, assembly and association: in addition to relevant provisions identified above which impact on the balance between privacy and the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

ReformReform of the protection of Human Rights in the UK.