Human Rights Tutorial

The 1998 Human Rights Act is possibly the most controversial piece of legislation ever passed in modern Britain. We sought to unpick the history, the politics and the law surrounding the Act. The students first of all analysed in detailed Britain’s unwritten constitution and its many contradictions. Then they learnt about the complicated historical background of human rights in the UK from the bill of rights in the 18th century to Britain’s prolonged entry into the EEC in 1972. Everyone was particularly interested in the IRA and in cases, such as Mc Cann v UK , where the British government acted in secret to abuse peoples basic rights.

Some key cases under the HRA were then considered; Begum, ex p Amin, Price v Leeds CC and Douglas v Hello Magazine were amongst the cases which we looked at. In the afternoon the students saw how the Human Rights Act had been used to protect human rights and civil liberties in the War on Terror. The day concluded with a careful analysis and debate over the plans to get rid of the Human Rights Act. The students were able to take both sides with ease, analyse why the act was important and assess the balance between human rights and security.

See more details of our Law Tutorials here

Fred Cowell, Law Tutor