What is the Human Rights Act?

What is the Human Rights Act?
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.
There are 16 basic rights taken from the European Convention on Human Rights. These
rights not only affect matters of life and death like freedom from torture and killing but also
affect your rights in everyday life: what you can say and do, your beliefs, your right to a
fair trial and many other basic entitlements.
Right to life
Prohibition of torture
Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
Right to liberty and security
Right to a fair trial
No punishment without law
Right to respect for private and family life
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Freedom of expression
Freedom of assembly and association
Right to marry
Prohibition of discrimination
Protection of property
Right to education
Right to free elections
Abolition of the death penalty
What does each of the Human Rights mean?
Right to life
This Article is the belief that a human being has an essential right to
live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by
another human being.
The concept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of
abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, self defense and war.
Prohibition of torture
No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
This Article is an absolute right, which means that it provides absolute protection against
treatment which amounts to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment, with no
exceptions.
Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
This Act protects your human right not to be held in slavery or servitude. Slavery is when
someone actually owns you like a piece of property.
Servitude is similar. You might live in the person’s property, work for them and be unable
to leave, but they don’t officially own you. The law also protects you from forced labour forcing you to work under the threat of punishment that you have not agreed to accept.
Right to liberty and security
You have a right to your personal freedom. The government cannot take away your
freedom by detaining you without good reason - even for a short period.
This Act provides that if you are arrested, you have the right to:
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be told in a language you understand why you have been arrested and what
charges you face
be taken to court promptly
bail (temporary release while the court process continues) subject to certain
conditions
have a trial within a reasonable time
go to court to challenge your detention if you think it is unlawful
compensation if you have been unlawfully detained.
Right to a fair trial
Everyone has the right to a fair trial, and the courts have a duty to uphold this.
Things that make a trial fair include:
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being held in public
being held within a reasonable time
being independent and impartial, and
the presumption of innocence
If you are charged with a criminal offence, you have the
following minimum rights:
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to be told promptly, in a language you understand
and in detail, the accusation against you and why you
have been accused
to remain silent
to have adequate time and facilities to prepare your defence
to have access to all relevant information
to defend yourself in person or choose who will defend you
to be given free legal assistance if you cannot afford it
to have witnesses for and against you treated in the same way, and
to have the free assistance of an interpreter if you cannot understand or speak the
language used in court.
No punishment without law
You cannot be charged with a criminal offence for an action that was not a crime when you
committed it.
This means that public authorities have to make sure that laws explain clearly what counts
as a criminal offence, so that you know when you are breaking the law.
It is also against the law for the courts to give you a greater sentence than was available at
the time you committed an offence. The right to no punishment without law is absolute.
This means that it cannot be restricted in any way.
Right to respect for private and family life
This Act protects your rights to respect for your private life, your family life, your home and
your correspondence. But at the same time you must also respect the rights of other
people.
The right to a private life means that you have the right to carry on your life privately,
without government interference, as long as you also respect the rights of other people.
The courts have interpreted the concept of ‘private life’ in a very broad way. It covers
things like your right to choose your sexual identity, your lifestyle, and the way you look
and dress.
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion. This right includes freedom to change their religion or
belief and freedom, either alone or in the community with others
and in public or private, to manifest their religion or belief, in
worship, teaching, practice and observance.
Freedom of expression
You have the right to hold your own opinions and to express them
freely without government interference.
This includes the right to express your views aloud or through:
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published articles, books or leaflets
television or radio broadcasting
works of art
communication on the internet
Freedom of assembly and association
You have the right to protest by holding meetings and demonstrations with other people.
But you must act peacefully and without violence or threat of violence.
You also have the right to form and be part of a trade union, a political party or another
association or voluntary group.
Nobody has the right to force you to join a protest, trade union, political party or another
association.
Right to marry
Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to start a family.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2002 that this right extends to transsexual
people who are now able to marry or enter civil partnerships in their acquired gender
because of the Gender Recognition Act (2004).
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 means that gay men and lesbian women in the UK are now
able to register civil partnerships. Couples who register a civil partnership have the same
rights as heterosexual married couples in areas like tax, social security, inheritance and
workplace benefits.
Prohibition of discrimination
Discrimination occurs when you are treated less favourably than another person in a
similar situation and this treatment cannot be objectively and reasonably justified.
It is important to understand that the Human Rights Act does not protect you from
discrimination in all areas of your life. Instead it protects you from discrimination in the
enjoyment of those human rights protected by the European Convention of Human Rights.
This reflects the core idea that all of us, no matter who we are, enjoy the same human
rights and should have equal access to them.
Protection of property
You have the right to enjoy your property peacefully. Property can include things like land,
houses, shares, licences, leases, patents, money, a pension and certain types of welfare
benefits.
A public authority cannot take away property or place restrictions on your use of your
property without very good reason. This right applies to companies as well as individuals.
Right to education
Everybody has the right to an effective education. Parents also
have a right to ensure that their religious and philosophical beliefs
are respected during the children’s education.
Right to free elections
The Human Rights Act requires the government to support your right to free expression by
holding free elections at reasonable intervals. The elections must enable you to vote in
secret.
The right to free elections is absolute, which means that it must never be restricted in any
way. However, the government can put some limits on the way elections are held, and it
can decide what kind of electoral system to have – such as ‘first past the post’ or
proportional representation.
The right to free elections only applies to those who are eligible to vote under UK law.
Abolition of the death penalty
The Act completely abolished the death penalty in the United Kingdom, effective on royal
assent. Previously to this, the death penalty had already been abolished for murder, but it
remained in force for certain military offences (although these provisions had not been
used for several decades)
Information about the Human Rights Acts is taken from the Equality and Human Rights
Commission website. You can find out more information about Human Rights by visiting
the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website.