Your Rights Under the Human Rights Act 1998

The Human Rights Act 1998 is not simply about matters of issues such as life and death, for example torture and persecution. It incorporates your rights as an ordinary citizen going about their day to day business. This includes issues of what you are allowed to say and do, e.g. freedom of speech, your religious beliefs and practising them, your rights to a fair trial should court action be taken against you and other similar basic rights that you have in everyday life.

They are not absolute, however, and the government does have the necessary power to restrict and control certain elements contained within the Act where it is necessary to do so. For example, in the interests of national security where ‘freedom of speech’ might be limited or in a case where your limits on privacy might be removed in situations where you might have your phone tapped if the government or the police felt you posed a threat to national security or that you were using a phone as a means of communication for the purpose of committing a crime.

In addition to protecting your own human rights, the Act also makes it mandatory for you to respect others’ rights also and to exercise yours in a manner in which you would not be preventing others from exercising theirs.

Some of your basic human rights, as covered by the Act include:

• The right to life and liberty
• The right to a fair trial
• The right to respect for family life and your own private life
• The right to access education
• The right to take part in free elections
• Freedom of thought, expression, assembly and association
• Freedom to practice legitimate religious beliefs

Exercising Your Human Rights

If you feel that you are being prevented from exercising any of these basic human rights or the others contained within the Act, you have the right to a solution by law, even if you feel your rights have been violated by a person or organisation in authority, e.g. the police. However, in the vast majority of cases, any fundamental disagreement you might have with regards to your ability to exercise your human rights can often be resolved quite amicably between the parties concerned or with the help of mediation services.

Nevertheless, in cases where no agreement or resolution can be reached, you are entitled to take your case further, either to a court or to some kind of appropriate tribunal, whichever is the most appropriate. Before doing so, however, it is recommended that you seek legal advice before issuing any court proceedings. Your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau or Community Legal Advice centre can advise you on these matters and, in accordance with the Act, advice needs to be provided to citizens of the UK in their native language if they do not have a sufficient command of English.

It is important to remember, however, that in certain circumstances, there may be very legitimate reasons for denying some of the elements contained within the Act and to be sure of the legal implications in terms of how you have interpreted the law by consulting with a legal expert first.