HUMAN RIGHTS APPLICATION
At Arden Solicitors Advocates our Immigration Team has extensive knowledge and experience in human rights law.
The Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 (the Act or the HRA) sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that everyone in the UK is entitled to.
In practice, the Act has three main effects:
- It incorporates the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic British law. This means that if your human rights have been breached, you can take your case to a British court rather than having to seek justice from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
- It requires all public bodies (like courts, police, local authorities, hospitals and publicly funded schools) and other bodies carrying out public functions to respect and protect your human rights.
- In practice it means that Parliament will nearly always seek to ensure that new laws are compatible with the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (although ultimately Parliament is sovereign and can pass laws which are incompatible).The courts will also where possible interpret laws in a way which is compatible with Convention rights.
The Human Rights Act came into force in the UK in October 2000.
The Act sets out your human rights in a series of ‘Articles’. Each Article deals with a different right. These are all taken from the ECHR and are commonly known as ‘the Convention Rights’:
- Article 2 Right to life
- Article 3 Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment
- Article 4 Freedom from slavery and forced labour
- Article 5 Right to liberty and security
- Article 6 Right to a fair trial
- Article 7 No punishment without law
- Article 8 Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence
- Article 9 Freedom of thought, belief and religion
- Article 10 Freedom of expression Article 11 Freedom of assembly and association
- Article 12 Right to marry and start a family
- Article 14 Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms
- Protocol 1, Article 1 Right to peaceful enjoyment of your property
- Protocol 1, Article 2 Right to education
- Protocol 1, Article 3 Right to participate in free elections
- Protocol 13, Article 1 Abolition of the death penalty
If you believe you have suffered an infringement of your human rights, we can make an application on your behalf to the Home Office.
Our team have particular experience in challenging human rights in Asylum, Immigration as well as detention cases, denial of right to marry in the UK, to remain in the UK on grounds of private and family life.
Human rights abuses can take a great many forms but we have experience in cases involving:
- Right to life
- Inhuman or degrading treatment
- False imprisonment / deprivation of liberty
- Right to a private and family life
- Right to a fair hearing
- Right to marry
If you wish to make an application on the basis of any of the above categories, we can advise and assist you to make your application. If you have been refused, we can prepare your appeal, and represent you at your hearing.