Human Rights Act 1998 - What it Means

The incorporation of the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms into the domestic law of the United Kingdom raises many questions. What does it mean now that the Convention's provisions are expressly laid down in a national Act? Does it mean the addition of a number of - in the view of Lord Denning - broad principles which are `capable of giving rise to an infinity of argument' and which will do little to improve the human rights protection of the individual citizen? Or has the Act finally brought human rights `home', as Prime Minister Tony Blair claims? The Exeter School of Law's Centre for European Legal Studies invited a number of distinguished practitioners and scholars to shed light on a few of the questions which occupy the minds of many in the UK today. All of the contributors to the Centre's annual Lasok Conference agreed to put their findings in writing. This book is the result. It offers analyses and opinions from the point of view of practitioners, politicians, the Council of Europe and academics. It gives fascinating answers to those who are still wondering about the significance of it all.