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Human rights in the UK were enshrined in the 1953 European Convention on Human Rights. Winston Churchill had previously lobbied for a European body to take control of justice and legal rights for European citizens after World War two. The result was the Council of Europe, and the Convention which today provides human rights to some 800 million people across 47 signatory countries. Read the rest of this entry →

When you make a planning application you make the application to the local planning authority, and if your application is refused then you are entitled to appeal against the decision. The planning authority should make the decision with regards to your application in line with development plans for the area; if you don’t think this has occurred then you may be entitled to appeal. When the council refuses your planning application, they must do so in writing with reasons. Read the rest of this entry →

Personal data held by any organisation is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 and public bodies are also subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Government should adhere to the Acts and ensure that data is not kept without reason. It is often Government organisations, perhaps because of the sheer volume of data they hold, that are the subject of legal cases and media reports because of lost data or failure to adhere to the principles of the Acts. Read the rest of this entry →

It is the Human Rights Act 1998 which protects people’s rights to thought, belief and religion in the UK. The Human Rights Act enacted the European Commission on Human Rights(ECHR) which lays out the basic human rights to which everyone is entitled. Some of the rights to which everyone is entitled are absolute, which means that there can be no excuse for derogating from them. These include the right to life (Art 2) and the right to freedom from torture (Art 3). Other rights can be derogated from in particular circumstances; for example Art 8, the right to family and private life, can be derogated from when it is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well being of the country. This could be for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Read the rest of this entry →

Judicial appointments have been the subject of much change in recent years. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 provided for the setting up of the Judicial Appointments Commission and completely changed the way that judicial appointments were made. Prior to the Constitutional Reform Act, the Lord Chancellor was in charge of appointing judges to office and the process was done very much behind closed doors. Read the rest of this entry →

The UK joined the European Union in 1973 and, since the enacting of the European Communities Act 1972, has been subject to an entirely different basis of law, in addition to the law of the UK. The European Communities Act 1972 states that the EU can make law in the form of treaties and regulations that override inconsistent UK law. This point was reinforced by the European Court of Justice in the case of Factortame. What this means is that parliamentary sovereignty has in some way been compromised as there is a higher law making body than the UK Parliament. Read the rest of this entry →