...The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is an international treaty that drafted by the Council of Europe to promote human rights and fundamental freedom in Europe. The aimed of Council of Europe is to achieve a unity among its member and believed that one of the way to persuade this goal is the maintenance and the further realization of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom through this convention. The convention is inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 that was proclaimed by General Assembly of United Nation. The resulting is The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) signed on Rome on 4th November 1950. The implementation of this convention came to force three years later in 1953 and three subsequent institutions were entrusted with safeguarding its workings: The European Commission of Human Rights (1954) The European Court of Human Rights (1959) The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe(1). In the European Convention of Human Rights, there are 17 key articles relating to rights and freedoms in the convention outlined in section 1 Article 2-18, which include: • Right to life • Prohibition of torture or inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment • Prohibition of slavery and forced labour • Right to liberty and security • Right to a fair trial • No punishment without law • Right to respect for family and private life • Freedom of thought, conscience and religion • Freedom of expression • Freedom of assembly and association ...
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...Unit 1 – Section A - Statutory Interpretation Approaches to Interpretation The Literal Rule Under this rule, the courts will give words their plain, ordinary or literal meaning, even if the result is not very sensible. “If the words in an act are clear, then you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity.” (R v Judge of the City of London Court) Examples: (Whiteley v Chapel) – D charged under a section which made it an offence to impersonate any person entitled to vote. D impersonated someone who was on voting list but was deceased. D was not guilty as the person is dead they are not literally entitled to vote. (London and North Eastern Railways Co v Berriman) – Unable to claim when husband was killed whilst carrying out maintenance work oiling railway track. Statue said a look out should be provided when relaying or repairing the track. Words relaying and rapairing were given the literal meaning and didn’t cover maintenance. The Golden Rule It takes the literal meaning but the court is allowed to avoid interpretation which would lead to an absurd result. There are 2 views on how the golden rule should be used 1) the narrow application and 2) the wider application 1) Narrow application – if a word has more than one meaning, you can choose between them In Jones v DPP if a word had more than one meaning “You can choose between those meanings but beyond this you cannot go”. Examples: (R v Allen) – Example of narrow application Was a bigamist...
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...Human rights are the entitlements that all individuals possess, regardless of race, religion, sex, colour, believes, or national origin. These rights are considered universal but not all countries recognised these rights as legal. Human rights are legally enforced by the European Union Following the holocaust that occurred in World War II the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created in Paris by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The European convention of Human Rights is an international treaty that protects human rights and freedoms. People who feel their rights has been violated, can take their complaints to the European Court of Human Rights where their case can be reviewed and their rights upheld. The Human Rights Act 1998 was an Act of Parliament that boosted the effect of European Convention of Human Rights in the UK. The Human Rights Act 1998 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.[1] Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, but more commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights. The Act makes a remedy for breach of a Convention right available in UK courts, without the need to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In particular, the Act makes it unlawful for any public body to act in a way which is incompatible...
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...the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and which involved a German firm and German authorities. This case constitutes a good illustration of how European law works and of the interaction between State Courts and European institutions. Also, it was a case of prime importance for Human Rights in the Community since the ECJ ruled that fundamental human rights, whether they arise from the Constitutions of the Member States or from provisions of the ECHC, can limit the freedom to provide services. The firm Omega was producing combat games which gave the users the opportunity to "play at killing" with lasers. The Bonn police saw this activity as a threat to public secturity and prohibited it. However, the firm objected against this provision and the case was brought before the German Federal Court. The main argument of this Court was that the game was an affront to human dignity as guaranteed by the first Article of the German Constitution. However, it decided to refer a question to the European Court of Justice, because the prohibition of 'laserdome' was not compaticle with fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the EC Treaty, such as the freedom to provide services and the free movement of goods. This issue was raised because Omega was buying material to assemble the laser from a British company, which, after this prohibition was 'prevented from providing services' to a consumer, from another Member State. The Court asked; 'to what extent the restriction which the referring court has...
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...can do and what we cannot do. They are created by Parliament and are known as ‘statute law’ or act of Parliament. The content of statue law is greatly influenced by the European Union including the Human Rights Act 1998. In the case of ‘common law’, the decisions of senior appellate court are included as law. European Union (EU) law takes priority and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) protects those identified rights for the relevant stakeholders. Betten, L. (1999) A key distinction is made in terms of civil law and criminal law. Civil law deals in areas such as family matters, employment and contracts; whereas, criminal law is applicable when it is believed that a crime requires an investigation. Speaight, A. (2012) EU laws have considerable influence in a number of areas related to business and human rights and many treaties and directives are applicable in the UK for employment, security and freedom of movements. European law is highly applicable especially in terms of rights at work and business related law. Betten, L. (1999) English Law and its Sources English law is made up of common law - legislation passed by Parliament influenced by Europe. There are four main sources of English law 1. Statute law 2. Common law 3. European Union law 4. European Convention on Human Rights SOAS Library, Sources of UK Law (online, August 2012) Internal Sources of English Law 1. Parliament (Proactive) Statute law Statute law is composed of the acts...
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...HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 (also known as the Act or the HRA) came into force in the United Kingdom in October 2000. It is composed of a series of sections that have the effect of codifying the protections in the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. 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. This means, among other things, that individuals can take human rights cases in domestic courts; they no longer have to go to Strasbourg to argue their case in the European Court of Human Rights. The Act sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals in the UK 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 The Human Rights Act 1998 (c 42) is an Act of Parliament...
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...of the Human Rights Act 1998 has impacted upon many areas of tort law. Choose one of these areas and assess the Act’s impact. Traditionally, up to the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) for the Convention and the all the individuals living in the United Kingdom had no domestic law.This resulted them to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in order for them to correct the breach of their Convention rights. Thus the domestic law needs to respect the settlement that has been made by the European Court. Surprisingly, the relationship between the Human Right issues and within Tort Liabilities, there is no exact proof that the domestic court has carried out these issues. In the case Reynolds v Times Newspaper Ltd [1999], the plaintiff, a well known public figure in Ireland, began for deformation against the Defendant. This was surrounded with the issue regarding an article being published by the Sunday Times. The article was based on Mr Reynolds that he had hidden important information about his colleague, Mr Whelenhan’s in order for him to become president of the High Court. The main issue that needs to be considered in this case, is whether the courts should identify if it is countable of holding the announcement by a newspaper of political matters. The House of Lords identified that the media’s announcement can be safe by these situation, providing a test of public right. This considers the freedom of expression under the Article 10. In 2002, the Human Rights Act came...
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...objectives: In 1945, at the end of the second World War, Europe was marked by unprecedented devastation and human suffering. It faced new political challenges, in particular reconciliation among the peoples of Europe. This situation favored the long held idea of European integration through the creation of common institutions. In his famous speech at the University of Zurich on 19 September 1946, Sir Winston Churchill called for a United States of Europe and the creation of a Council of Europe. He had spoken of a Council of Europe as early as 1943 in a broadcast to the nation. The future structure of the Council of Europe was discussed at a specific congress of several hundred leading politicians, government representatives and civil society in The Hague, Netherlands in 1948. There were two schools of thought competing: some favored a classical international organization with representatives of governments, while others preferred a political forum with parliamentarians. Both approaches were finally combined through the creation of the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly under the Statute of the Council of Europe..This vision also led to the creation of the motto and the underlying objective of the Council of Europe which is to promote greater unity within Europe and to safeguard its political and cultural heritage by promoting human rights and democracy. Original organizational structure and decision rules: The original structure of the...
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...parliamentary sovereignty can be questioned due to the membership of the European Union and the Human Rights Act. Parliament can make laws on any matter due to Dicey in ‘Law of the Constitution (1885).’ He said that ‘in theory Parliament has total power. It is sovereign'. He states a number of reasons as to how this is possible. Firstly Dicey points out that Parliament can pass laws on any subject without legal restriction therefore it is sovereign. This principle is a result of the election of the Members of Parliament (MPs), by the electorate which gives them authority to represent and pass legislation on their behalf. Parliament being able to make laws on any matter can be traced back to the Bill of Rights 1689 where it was said that the monarch alone could not pass or repeal laws without Parliament's consent. Parliament is also free to modify its own makeup and authority. This is confirmed in the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 which removed the veto powers of the House of Lords and the Life Peerages Act 1958 which apart from giving the Prime Minister flexibility to modify the composition of the House of Lords introduced female peers into the hereditary and male dominated second chamber. Therefore, parliament is still sovereign because it can make or unmake any law it wishes. The second element of parliamentary sovereignty is legislative supremacy. In many liberal democracies, a constitutional court, eg, the Supreme Court in the US, has the power to declare...
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...The concept of an individuals privacy and it’s juxtaposition with freedom of press has been an area of concern for the European Court of Human Rights for many years, as such many legislative proceedings within the United Kingdom have followed precedent set out in those cases. Richard Peppiat, former journalist for the Daily Star Newspaper during an interview once quoted, “When you are immersed in that world you don’t see people as people. You see them as targets who can provide information or quotes. You lose any moral or ethical considerations. In your desperation to get a story you forget you are dealing with individuals, family life, privacy.”.(Carrick, D. 2012) The object of this essay is to evaluate the significance of the issue of balance between an individual supposed right to Privacy and the collective right given to Freedom of Expression within the Print industry. Specific reference will be made to adjudications made by the European Court of Human rights and how this has set out guidelines regarding the aforementioned. Furthermore, these cases will be analysed and compared to notable United Kingdom court cases to allow further insight into this particular problem facing the Media industry. The National Union of Journalists set out a code of conduct, outlining the main principles of journalistic ethics, something that has been held as industry guidelines since it’s creation in 1936. Part of that code of ethics states, “A journalist does nothing to intrude...
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...Introduction Human rights are rights that are entitled to every individual regardless of nationality and citizenship as it is inherent, inalienable, and universal. The presence of basic human rights are vital in upholding a civilized society. The idea of having individual rights and freedom is not a new concept in Britain, in fact it has very deep roots. History shows landmark advancements such as Magna Carta 1215, Habeas Corpus Act 1679, and Bill of Rights and Claim of Rights 1689 all had important roles in protecting citizen’s rights. After World War II which ended in 1945, many nations realized that they had to prioritise the protection of human rights in order to avoid history from repeating itself (again). More than 50 nations joined forces in forming an organization called the United Nations which drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This Declaration was the point of departure for the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereafter the ECHR) as its drafting was followed soon after by the newly formed Council of Europe in 1950. However, it was only ratified in 1953 under the enforcement of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg. Contents of the ECHR consists of main rights and freedoms in the form of articles, rules of operation...
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...Parliament thus defined has, under the English constitution, the right to make or unmake any law whatever, and further, that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament.’ Legislative supremacy involves not only the right to change the law but also that no one else should have that right, however, Parliament has, on occasion fettered itself in order to limit its own powers, for example, devolution to Scottish Parliament and Welsh...
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...precedent has been at the heart of the English legal system, being a fashion fiesta for the judges to follow long-standing precedents which, in fact, only slowly evolved and matured from the nineteenth century.[1] Fundamentally, it refers to the hierarchical structure of the English courts within which a decision of a higher court will be binding on a court lower in the hierarchy. The decision contains two types of statements: first, there are ‘ratio decidendi’ statements which are binding and are statements of law applied, and second, there ‘obiter dictum’ statements which are statements made ‘by the way’. Nevertheless, some judges have been criticised for making law via the doctrine of precedent. Subsequently, the question of judges being unconstitutional arises. However, as we shall see, sometimes judges sitting in the House of Lords (the Supreme Court), Privy Council, Court of Appeal and two separate European Courts do indeed make law and state the law. The Supreme Court, formerly the House of Lords, is the highest court in the United Kingdom and is bound by the European Court of Justice for European Union law matters and also by the European Court of Human Rights for issues related to human rights. The House of Lords was also bound by its own decisions as per London Tramways v London County Council [1898] AC 375 [2] until Lord Gardiner in the House of Lords issued a Practice Statement [3] in 1966 which allowed only them to depart from the previous decisions as a last resort...
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...Success of Human Rights Act Beth Kemunto Institutional Affiliations Table of content Introduction Bringing the rights home Incompatibility declarations Success through HRA Conclusion Bibliography Success of Human Rights Act Abstract This paper tries to vivify the sufficiency with which Human Rights Acts 1998 protects the UK citizens. The paper considers the incompatibility declaration which is a major hindrance to the Human Rights Acts based on Belmarish Detention case. In spite of this limitation, the overall reports and recommendations forwarded on Human Rights Act, it’s vivid that the UK residents are protected by the rights. Introduction After its enactment into UK law on 2nd October 2000, the Human Rights Act 1998 has also incorporated other European Convention Human Rights (ECHR). It is therefore very important to validate the success of the Human Rights Act in the previous decade. This paper thus focuses on the objectives of the HRA to assess the extent of success to which it offers to the UK residents. This essay will focus on the analysis of the case of A and others versus the secretary of State for Home Department (2004) in order to validate the caveat of the declaration of incompatibility. In this case, it is evident that challenge has been poised on the effectiveness of HRA upholding rights as quite fundamental. However, the success of HRA posits concrete evidence that HRA does not protect the rights of UK residents...
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...been radically changed by the Human Rights Act. Judges now see themselves as legislating human rights through their interpretation of Acts of Parliament.’ Student Number: 111244061 Candidate Number: 56307 In the English legal system, Statutory interpretation is seen as the way by which judges give meaning to the statutes by the parliament. Even though Judges have a wider choice of options in interpreting statues, the situation is now different after UK’s membership of the European Union (EU) through the European Communities Act (ECA) 1972 and after the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998. Judges are now bound to interpret the statues in such a way that is compatible with the provisions of EU law according to Sec 2(4) of ECA 1972 and also should give effect to the spirit of the conventions as required in Sec 3 of HRA 1998. Convention jurisprudence now has an significant and straight role to play in statutory interpretation due to section 3 of HRA 1998. The Convention confers a huge number of fundamental rights, including the right to life, the right to liberty and security, and so on. The United Kingdom became a participant to the Convention many years ago but Parliament did not cope with domestic law until 1998, when the Human Rights Act was passed. So the Convention was not, prior to that Act, directly related to statutory interpretation. It could not be a source of rights or obligations and, unless a statute...
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