SQE1 Human Rights Act 1998 Flashcards

The ECHR is an international treaty; the HRA gives specified Convention rights effect in UK domestic law, allowing enforcement in UK courts.

Identifies the Convention rights given domestic effect by the HRA, including specified ECHR articles and Protocol rights.

Absolute rights cannot be balanced away; limited rights permit restrictions only within defined exceptions; qualified rights permit lawful, necessary and proportionate interference for specified legitimate aims.

Article 2 life (subject to tightly defined exceptions); Article 3 torture/inhuman or degrading treatment (absolute); Article 4 slavery/forced labour (with defined exclusions); Article 7 no punishment without law.

Article 2 protects life but expressly addresses certain uses of force; Article 3 absolutely prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, without balancing against public interests.

Liberty and security: deprivation of liberty is permissible only on specified grounds and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law.

A fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal in the determination of civil rights/obligations or criminal charges, subject to its detailed guarantees.

Article 8 private/family life, home and correspondence; Article 9 thought, conscience and religion; Article 10 expression; Article 11 peaceful assembly and association.

The freedom to hold a belief is absolute; manifestation of religion or belief may be restricted if the Article 9(2) conditions are met.

Where prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society for an Article 10(2) legitimate aim, such as national security, public safety, prevention of disorder/crime or protection of others’ rights.

Peaceful assembly and association (including trade unions); restrictions must be prescribed by law, necessary in a democratic society and pursue an Article 11(2) legitimate aim.

Protocol 1 Article 1 property; Article 2 education; Article 3 free elections. Protocol 13 Article 1 abolishes the death penalty.

(1) Sufficiently important objective; (2) rational connection; (3) no less intrusive measure could achieve it; (4) fair balance between individual rights and community interests.

Article 8 interference and proportionality: could the safety aim be achieved by less intrusive means, such as securing the correspondence without reading it?

Courts may give appropriate weight to institutional expertise and democratic judgments, especially in sensitive policy or national-security contexts, while retaining responsibility for deciding legality.

The discretion the ECtHR allows contracting states in applying some Convention obligations; its breadth varies with context and European consensus. It is not the same as UK domestic judicial deference.

Convention rights are interpreted in light of present-day conditions, allowing their practical protection to evolve.

In war or another public emergency threatening the life of the nation, only to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and consistently with other international obligations.

Article 3, Article 4(1) and Article 7; Article 2 except deaths resulting from lawful acts of war. Protocol 13 also prohibits derogation from its death-penalty ban.

Take into account relevant ECtHR judgments and other specified Strasbourg materials; they are not automatically binding precedent on UK courts.

So far as possible, primary and subordinate legislation must be read and given effect compatibly with Convention rights; courts cannot adopt an interpretation inconsistent with a fundamental feature of the legislation.

A designated senior court may make a declaration of incompatibility; this does not invalidate the legislation, affect its continuing operation or bind the parties by itself.

No. Parliamentary sovereignty remains; a competent court may issue a section 4 declaration, but the Act remains legally effective unless changed.

A mechanism permitting a minister, where statutory conditions are met, to amend legislation to remove an incompatibility, subject to parliamentary procedures; it is not automatic following a declaration.

It is generally unlawful for a public authority to act incompatibly with a Convention right, subject to statutory exceptions where primary legislation requires the act or cannot be interpreted compatibly.

Includes courts, tribunals, government bodies and persons exercising functions of a public nature; Parliament is excluded, as are persons acting privately in respect of those private acts.

The claimant must be a victim of the alleged unlawful act (directly affected), not merely have a sufficient interest; proceedings ordinarily must be brought within one year, subject to statutory qualifications and the court’s equitable extension power.

Relief or remedy within its powers that is just and appropriate; damages are discretionary and awarded only where necessary to afford just satisfaction, taking account of other relief.

It prohibits discrimination in enjoyment of Convention rights; it is not a freestanding general equality right, though a separate violation of the substantive right need not be established.

The Equality Act creates domestic discrimination claims within defined fields, including against private employers/service providers, without requiring the claim to fall within the ambit of another Convention right.

Age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.

Direct: less favourable treatment because of a protected characteristic. Indirect: a generally applied provision, criterion or practice causes particular group and individual disadvantage, unless objectively justified.

Harassment: prohibited unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic or sexual conduct with the required purpose/effect. Victimisation: detriment because someone did or may do a protected act, such as alleging discrimination.

Potential indirect religion-or-belief discrimination under the Equality Act; assess group and individual disadvantage and whether the rule is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Section 7 requires the claimant to be a victim of the unlawful act; general public-interest standing used in judicial review is insufficient for an HRA section 6 claim.