Law Human Rights Act

Order Description Law 2013 Human Rights in the United Kingdom Assignment 1: 1,500 word problem question (worth 30%) - The Human Rights Act 1998. Submission date: Thursday 1st December 2016 With reference to the Human Rights Act 1998 and related case law, evaluate the accuracy (or not) of the following hypothetical views expressed by Sybil Liberty, Home Affairs Spokesperson for the Illiberal Party at their annual party conference. “The introduction of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 marks a fundamental change in the way UK law recognises and protects human rights. UK courts are now bound to follow and apply the case law from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rather than any UK precedent. All judicial decisions support this stance. UK courts now possess as the primary effective remedy under the HRA 1998 the power to declare an Act of Parliament incompatible with Convention rights. This power belongs to all UK courts and allows them, in effect, to disapply an Act of Parliament, whilst waiting for Parliament to amend the legislation that has been declared incompatible. UK courts thus have the power to undermine Parliament’s supremacy. Should a UK court decide not to grant a declaration of incompatibility in a case, then as a secondary remedy, the HRA 1998 provides the court with an unlimited power to reinterpret legislation to make it comply with Convention rights. This power applies in relation to all legislation, whenever enacted by Parliament, as long as that legislation is ambiguous. All UK judges have shown themselves very willing to depart from their traditional role as the agents of Parliament’s written will. This again reflects the marked fundamental change that the HRA introduces to the way UK law recognises and protects human rights. Before the introduction of the HRA, UK courts did not possess any power to interpret legislation to comply with human rights. The UK should return to the position pre the HRA 1998, when the sole effective protector of human rights from a UK legal perspective was the UK Parliament.” Note: the main skills being assessed by Assignment 1 are: • Application of law to facts • Analysis of legal rules and principles • Written communication (structure, clarity of explanation) • Problem solving (identification of issues, identification of solutions, reasoned judgment as to the most appropriate solution) Law 2013 Human Rights in the United Kingdom Assignment 1: 1,500 word problem question (worth 30%) - The Human Rights Act 1998. Submission date: Thursday 1st December 2016 With reference to the Human Rights Act 1998 and related case law, evaluate the accuracy (or not) of the following hypothetical views expressed by Sybil Liberty, Home Affairs Spokesperson for the Illiberal Party at their annual party conference. “The introduction of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 marks a fundamental change in the way UK law recognises and protects human rights. UK courts are now bound to follow and apply the case law from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rather than any UK precedent. All judicial decisions support this stance. UK courts now possess as the primary effective remedy under the HRA 1998 the power to declare an Act of Parliament incompatible with Convention rights. This power belongs to all UK courts and allows them, in effect, to disapply an Act of Parliament, whilst waiting for Parliament to amend the legislation that has been declared incompatible. UK courts thus have the power to undermine Parliament’s supremacy. Should a UK court decide not to grant a declaration of incompatibility in a case, then as a secondary remedy, the HRA 1998 provides the court with an unlimited power to reinterpret legislation to make it comply with Convention rights. This power applies in relation to all legislation, whenever enacted by Parliament, as long as that legislation is ambiguous. All UK judges have shown themselves very willing to depart from their traditional role as the agents of Parliament’s written will. This again reflects the marked fundamental change that the HRA introduces to the way UK law recognises and protects human rights. Before the introduction of the HRA, UK courts did not possess any power to interpret legislation to comply with human rights. The UK should return to the position pre the HRA 1998, when the sole effective protector of human rights from a UK legal perspective was the UK Parliament.” Note: the main skills being assessed by Assignment 1 are: • Application of law to facts • Analysis of legal rules and principles • Written communication (structure, clarity of explanation) • Problem solving (identification of issues, identification of solutions, reasoned judgment as to the most appropriate solution)