header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
22 July 2011 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7475 / Categories: Opinion , Human rights
printer mail-detail

The state of human rights (2)

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

What’s the Human Rights Act ever done for us, asks Roger Smith

What has the Human Rights Act ever done for us? Not much, according to critics such as Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips: “Under the camouflage of human rights, this is the way freedom dies.” Yet, just as the Monty Python insurgents had to admit that the Romans had done quite a lot of good, so we should admit the same of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998).

Prisoner voting

We should begin by acknowledging what HRA 1998 does not do. It does not change a word of the 60-year-old European Convention on Human Rights. For example, the troublesome Mr Hirst, who established that the UK general ban on prisoners’ voting was in breach of the Convention, won his first case (on delays of his parole hearing) at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) before HRA 1998 came into force. His second victory was again at the hands of the ECtHR. HRA 1998 played no part

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026—the winners!
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll