HRA 1998 Flashcards
What is the traditional UK approach to rights protection?
- reliance on the common law and the legislature
- Citizens free to do what they like unless expressly prohibited by law
What are the criticisms of the UK’s approach to rights protection?
Provided a fragmentary patchwork of provisions, which was vulnerable to erosion by the legislature and the courts
What did Lord Bingham state in R v Special Adjudicator?
That British Courts should in the absence of some circumstances, follow any clear and constant jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court
What did the case of N v Home Secretary 2005 establish?
The UK are reluctant to set higher standards than provided for in the ECHR.
What did R v Horncastle [2009] establish?
The UK could sometimes set lower standards when interpreting the ECHR
- this case they allowed hearsay evidence
What did Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2010] establish?
- This Court is not bound to follow every decision of the EurCtHR.
- it would destroy the ability of the Court to engage in the constructive dialogue with the EurCtHR which is of value to the development of Convention law’
Under s4 of HRA 1998 Courts can make declarations of incompatibility.
List these courts.
- UKSC
- Privy Council
- high court
- Court of Appeal
- Court of protection
- High Court of Justiciary
- court of session
What do declarations of incompatibility do?
These declarations put the executive and legislature on notice that, in the court’s opinion, the legislation is incompatible with the UK’s obligations under the ECHR
What did Lord Steyn state in regard to declarations of incompatibility?
can be used only in ‘exceptional’ circumstances
What is a remedial order?
sometimes used to amend legislation b/c of incompatibility
What has resulted from virtually all declarations of incompatibility?
They have been remedied
Hirst v UK (No 2) (2005)
Declaration of Incompatibility
- Representation of the Peoples Act 1983 prohibits prisoner from voting
- Prisoner lodged appeal to ECtHR who ruled this was a restriction of art. 3 protocol 1
- UK still did not change the law on the matter
Anston Cantlow [2003] stated s6 of the HRA 1998 applied to what?
Applies to bodies ‘whose nature is governmental in the broad sense of that expression, and would include government departments, local authorities, the police and the armed forces
What did Bankovic v Belgium [2001] establish?
only in most exceptional circumstances is a state liable for extra-territorial events
