the HRA is not the same as, for example,
the US Bill of Rights or the German Basic
Law, which entrench rights and allow
courts to strike down incompatible
legislation.
Parliament alone can decide whether
or not to repeal or amend legislation.
This is in stark contrast to the
European Communities Act 1972,
which allows UK law to be overridden
if it conflicts with directly enforceable
EU law.
Section 19 of the HRA requires
any Minister who is in charge of
a Bill a statement which says
that the Bill is either
compatible with human rights,
or that it is incompatible but
that the Government
nevertheless wishes to proceed
with the Bill.
In interpreting questions about human
rights the courts must ‘take into account’
any decisions made by the European Court
of Human Rights
The Joint Committee on Human Rights
(JCHR) task is to consider human rights
issues in the UK, by scrutinising draft
legislation to consider compatibility
with human rights.
Section 6 of the HRA
provides: It is unlawful
for a public authority to
act in a way which is
incompatible with a
Convention right. This
obligation does not apply
if under the law the
public authority could
not have acted
differently.