Before 1998, claims for a breach of human rights would be made directly to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This court was set up to preside over cases related to the Convention and for many years was the sole court for all human rights matters. In 1998, the UK government created the Human Rights Act which enshrined Convention rights into UK law. The Act made it easier for UK citizens to bring a case by making the law accessible through domestic courts.

Since 1998, it has been possible to bring a case in any UK court where you feel your human rights have been infringed by either a state body or another individual. The Human Rights Act provides a wide ranging set of rights and freedoms as follows:

• The right to life
• Freedom from torture and degrading treatment
• Freedom from slavery
• The right to liberty and security
• The right to a fair trial
• The right not to be punished retrospectively
• The right to privacy and respect for your family life
• Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of association
• The right to marry
• The right not to be discriminated against
• The right to peaceful enjoyment of your property
• The right to an education
• The right to participate in free and fair elections
• The right not to be subjected to the death penalty

These have given rise to many domestic cases. Privacy cases are brought against newspapers, and newspapers have brought cases to protect their right to freedom of expression. Challenges have been made against the justice system and people have brought cases against perceived discrimination.

The Act is the main source of human rights in the UK, although it also provides that UK courts must interpret all UK law in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, which remains as the highest source of human rights law across the whole of Europe.

As a last resort you are entitled to appeal the decision, but you must do so within six months, or in some cases twelve weeks, from the date of the application decision letter. You can appeal your decision online and you can have the appeal decided by written representations, or you can have an appeal hearing. When completing your appeal form you must set out your grounds for appealing the decision, directly responding to the local authority’s refusal letter. If the form is not properly completed then the planning authority may ask for additional information, but if this is submitted outside relevant time limits then it may not be considered.

The Town and Country Planning Act provides some of the law on appeals and this should be considered before appealing a decision. If you want to use an expert then you will have to bear the expense of doing so; you will also probably need solicitors to assist with the appeal. The solicitor will look at the application, the reasons given for its refusal and will prepare the necessary paperwork. The solicitor will also represent you at hearings when necessary. The cost of appealing a decision can be significant and can take a long time to be processed; because of this it is worth attempting to get the planning authority to agree with you before you appeal.

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The law on data protection contained within the Data Protection Act 1998 allows you to see the personal information held about you, regardless of whether the relevant organisation is a public or a private organisation. If you want to know what information the NHS, for example, holds on you, then you can make a request under the Data Protection Act. The Freedom of Information Act gives the right to see official information held by public authorities including hospitals, local councils and the police.

The Data Protection Act requires an organisation to use your data fairly, keep it secure and ensure accuracy. How different Government organisations use information will vary from organisation to organisation, but no organisation should keep irrelevant information. It is fairly easy to get a copy of all the information that an organisation holds on you: you can make a subject access request. In the case of the UK Borders Agency, a subject access request will mean that the department will send a copy of the entire file to the relevant person. In some circumstances the department will not be required to send certain pieces of information, usually because to do so would breach someone else’s right to have their data protected, or because it may be a breach of national security. An organisation has a limited amount of time to produce information when it is requested and will usually have 40 calendar days to give you the information requested. You should be aware that a public authority has the right to charge for the information given to cover their costs.

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The rights to freedom of thought, belief and religion are protected by Article 9: this includes the freedom to change religion or belief and ‘freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance’. Article 9 is a right which a state can derogate from in certain circumstances including in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The right to freedom of thought, belief and religion can be linked to other rights, such as the right to freedom of association or the right to freedom of expression, both contained within the Human Rights Act.

A recent Court of Appeal case, Ghai v Newcastle City, considered Article 9 ECHR in respect of a Hindu who wanted to have an open air cremation as required by his religion; the council had refused to allow such a cremation as it was not in accordance with the Cremation Act 1902. The defendant argued that the law amounted to an impermissible interference with his right to manifest his religion or belief. The result was that the Court of Appeal concluded that the open air funeral pyre was a matter of tradition not of religious belief, and that a ‘significant number of people would find cremation on open air pyres a matter of offence’. As a result the request was denied and his human right was derogated from.

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The Constitutional Reform Act changed the role of the Lord Chancellor so that they no longer head the judiciary, and gave the role of selecting judges to the Judicial Appointments Commission. The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent public body in charge of selecting candidates for public office and does so in a fair and open manner with a wide range of candidates, something which previously did not happen.

The JAC has specific duties which have been prescribed by the Constitutional Reform Act. The duties are to select candidates solely on merit, to select people with good character and to bear in mind the need for diversity within the people available for judicial selection. In order to select candidates solely on merit, the JAC must consider the applicants’ intellectual capacity, their personal qualities, including their ability to act objectively and their ability to develop professionally. The JAC will also consider the ability of prospective judges to understand and deal fairly, to be authoritative, to have good communication skills and to be efficient. In the interests of the process being fair and open, the requirements of judicial positions are published on the JAC website and are available for all to see.

The JAC advertises positions, takes applications and shortlists applicants. The candidates that are shortlisted are done so by tests, or by looking through and appraising the applications. When candidates are shortlisted they are invited to a selection day where they will be interviewed by a panel and may have to undertake a role play. The panel will then prepare a report selecting the best candidates. The JAC must then consult with the Lord Chief Justice and consider who to appoint. The final appointment is still made by the Lord Chancellor, though there are calls to remove this role from their remit.

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The methods in which EU law applies in the UK vary. The primary source of EU law is treaties which form the basis of EU law. Following the Treaty of Rome 1957, the Single European Act 1986 and the Treaty on the European Union of 1992, European Communities Acts have been passed by the UK Parliament.

The secondary sources of EU law are regulations, directives and decisions. Regulations are automatically binding on the UK and where there is a conflict between UK law and a regulation, the regulation will prevail. Directives require the UK Parliament to amend existing laws or write new laws so that the domestic law is compatible with the directive. Additionally, decisions are made by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that are binding not only on the individuals or member states to which they are addressed, but also on all member states. The EU can also produce non-binding law in the form of recommendations and opinions.

Previously, the trouble for individuals wishing to enforce their rights under EU law was the need for the person to bring their case in the UK, appealing the case through the domestic court system and then appealing to the ECJ. This process can take many years and be very costly. The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 has allowed judges to make ‘declarations of incompatibility’ where UK law is incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights and this will at least affect some cases of incompatible law. If the domestic system does not remedy an individual’s situation in compliance with EU law, the individual can appeal to the ECJ.

If you need to know whether EU law applies to you in a certain situation you should speak to a solicitor who specialises in EU law.