SPOTLIGHT

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15 years of the Human Rights Act

Power to the People 2 iStock 000010962216XSmall 146x219Has the Human Rights Act 1998 been successful? With the legislation turning 15, Stephen Grosz QC talks to LexisNexis about the past, present and future.

What was the initial reception to the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998)?

HRA 1998 was not launched with any great fanfare and did not make a great initial impact. At the time, 2000, I think that the attitude of most people was one of wait and see.

What have been the most notable cases in the last 15 years?

The defining case for HRA 1998 was A v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56, [2005] 3 All ER 169 - the Belmarsh case. This was a UK human rights case heard before the House of Lords. It held that the indefinite detention of foreign prisoners in Belmarsh without trial under the section 23 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Other important cases include those:

  • establishing investigatory duties for death and serious injury (and generally enhancing the rights of victims),
  • enhancing the rights of gays and transsexuals, and
  • transforming the common duty of breach of confidence to create an incipient privacy right.

In addition, the cases establishing responsibility of (and for) British troops overseas have been notable.

What have been the key challenges for government departments and public bodies in terms of compliance?

Public bodies and government departments have generally responded well to HRA 1998. They have recognised the importance of embedding human rights considerations in their decision-making processes, and in doing so in a substantive manner rather than simply as a tick-box exercise.

Do you feel that HRA 1998 has been a success or a failure?

HRA 1998 has been a success. It has transformed public decision-making and law-making. The failure, however, has been in the rhetoric. Governments have failed to embrace HRA 1998 as a positive contribution to the protection of liberties and the rule of law. They have failed to combat - and at times have contributed to - the ill-informed myths put out by certain elements of the media. They have allowed the ECHR, and therefore HRA 1998, to become a target of the generalised hostility to the EU (which it has nothing to do with).

What is the future for HRA 1998? What role will the legal profession have to play in reform?

HRA 1998 is now under threat from the British Bill of Rights promise. The extent of the threat remains to be seen. The legal profession is the guardian of the rule of law and needs to provide an independent and unbiased critique of the government's proposals when they are published.

Do you have any guidance or tips for public bodies in relation to complying with their duties in the changing landscape?

Public bodies should ignore the rhetoric, and instead take sound advice. They ought also to remember that HRA 1998 provides a rational template for sound decision-making.

Interviewed by Lucy Karsten.

This analysis was originally produced for LexisPSL Public Law with interviewee Stephen Grosz QC, a senior consultant for Bindmans. The views expressed by our Legal Analysis interviewees are not necessarily those of the proprietor. If you would like to read more quality articles like this, then register for a free 1 week trial of LexisPSL