The Human Rights Act

• 01. Introduction

• The Human Rights Act 1998 is an important and wide-ranging law which could affect almost every part of our lives. This leaflet explains what the Act says and how it...

• 02. Where did the Human Rights Act start?

• Though the Human Rights Act is itself new, its roots go back to the Second World War. After the war, the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) was written, setting out important basic human rights. The Human Rights Act now makes the Convention...

• 03. How does the Human Rights Act work?

• Not all the rights in the Convention and its protocols have become part of British law. The ones that have are called the Convention rights. Some of the rights that have been left out may be added later. The Convention rights are very broad, and the Act...

• 04. What can I do if I think my rights have been broken?

• If you think a public authority has breached your Convention rights (or that it is going to do so), you can take court proceedings against them. You have to show that you have been affected by what the public authority has done or is going to do. You can...

• 05. Which cases doesn't the Act cover?

• The Human Rights Act allows people to bring a case only against an organisation that is a public authority. So a person who is employed by, for example, a local council can take proceedings against their employee, but a person who is employed by a private...

• 06. The Articles of the Act in detail

• Here, we explain what each article says .We also give examples of how they have been used in the past or how they might be used under the Human Rights Act. Bear in mind, though, that these are just examples, and the Convention rights can be used in many...

• 07. The protocols of the Act in detail

• The protocols are new parts of the Convention, added since the Convention was first written. Protocol 1 Article 1: Protection of property 'Property' has a very wide meaning. It can include shares, a pension, welfare benefits that you have contributed to...

• 08. Further Help

• Liberty For general information on the Human Rights Act, see the Liberty guide "Your Rights", which is available from public libraries or log onto Libery's website. If you want help on a particular human rights issue, you can contact the Liberty...