This introductory chapter begins with a definition of tort law and the interests that tort law protects. To say that the law of tort protects an individual’s rights or interests does not mean that a claimant will succeed simply by showing that the defendant harmed them or infringed their rights. Tort law lays down a set of rules stating when exactly a harm or infringement of one’s interest will give rise to legal liability. The chapter discusses the disparate functions of tort law and illustrates them through the case of Woodroffe-Hedley v Cuthbertson [1997]. The chapter then explains the significance of the Human Rights Act 1998 for tort law.
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Chapter
1. Introduction
Chapter
1. Introduction
This introductory chapter begins with a definition of tort law and the interests that tort law protects. To say that the law of tort protects an individual’s rights or interests does not mean that a claimant will succeed simply by showing that the defendant harmed them or infringed their rights. Tort law lays down a set of rules stating when exactly a harm or infringement of one’s interest will give rise to legal liability. The chapter discusses the disparate functions of tort law and illustrates them through the case of Woodroffe-Hedley v Cuthbertson [1997]. The chapter then explains the significance of the Human Rights Act 1998 for tort law.
Chapter
3. Negligence—Introduction
This chapter introduces the tort of negligence. It first discusses the formulation of a general duty of care, highlighting the case of Donoghue v Stevenson, which established the pre-eminent role of the ‘duty of care’ concept in the tort of negligence. The chapter then turns to the role of the duty of care concept in modern negligence law, before considering the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the law of negligence.
Chapter
19. Human Rights and The UK Constitution
This chapter examines human rights protection in the UK. It examines the reasons why the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) was enacted, the effects of the HRA, the principal mechanisms through which the HRA affords protection to human rights in UK law; the scope of the HRA; and the debate concerning the potential repeal, reform, or replacement of the HRA. The chapter also introduces the notion of human rights, including the practical and philosophical cases for their legal protection, and the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the HRA gives effect in UK law.
Chapter
16. Invasion of privacy
This chapter examines the nascent ‘tort’ of invasion of privacy. It first considers why no free-standing tort of invasion of privacy exists, before looking at breach of confidence—a legal concept straddling tort and equity and concerned with ‘secrets’ and judicially adapted to protect privacy by developing the new tort of misuse of private information. The chapter then asks whether developments in the law protecting privacy—particularly in the wake of the Human Rights Act 1998—threaten freedom of expression and therefore the general public’s ‘right’ to information, particularly about celebrities, including royalty and politicians.
Chapter
4. The Human Rights Act 1998
The Concentrate Questions and Answers series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each book includes typical questions, diagram answer plans, caution advice, suggested answers, illustrative diagrams and flowcharts, and advice on gaining extra marks. Concentrate Q&A Human Rights & Civil Liberties offers expert advice on what to expect from your human rights and civil liberties exam, how best to prepare, and guidance on what examiners are really looking for. Written by experienced examiners, it provides: clear commentary with each question and answer; bullet point and diagram answer plans; tips to make your answer really stand out from the crowd; and further reading suggestions at the end of every chapter. The book should help you to: identify typical law exam questions; structure a first-class answer; avoid common mistakes; show the examiner what you know; all making your answer stand out from the crowd. This chapter covers the Human Rights Act 1998, including its central provisions, its impact on the protection of human rights in the UK, and its potential repeal.
Chapter
11. Standing: litigation and the public interest
This chapter examines standing—the entitlement to be heard by a court. No judicial process of any kind may proceed without it. In an ordinary claim, the claimant’s standing is based on his assertion of grounds for his claim to a remedy. In a claim for judicial review, the claimant does not need to assert a right to a remedy, but must have a ‘sufficient interest’ in the matter in dispute. The discussion covers campaign litigation, costs in campaign litigation, standing in an ordinary claim for a declaration, standing in Human Rights Act proceedings, standing for public authorities, and standing to intervene.
Chapter
17. The Human Rights Act 1998
This chapter addresses the Human Rights Act 1998. The Human Rights Act provides two ways for the courts to ensure compliance with Convention rights: where legislation is not human rights-compliant; and where a public authority has acted incompatibly with an individual’s rights. By providing a new benchmark for measuring UK legislation for compatibility with Convention rights, the Act gives judges a powerful interpreting role which effectively allows them to review Acts of Parliament within specified limits. At the same time, the Act was carefully drafted to respect and preserve parliamentary sovereignty and does not give the UK courts power to invalidate, overrule, or strike down an Act of Parliament that is incompatible with a Convention right; and while the Human Rights Act has special status as a constitutional statute, it is not entrenched and cannot override other statutes.
Chapter
16. Invasion of privacy
This chapter examines the nascent ‘tort’ of invasion of privacy. It first considers why no free-standing tort of invasion of privacy exists, before looking at breach of confidence—a legal concept straddling tort and equity and concerned with ‘secrets’ and judicially adapted to protect privacy by developing the new tort of misuse of private information. The chapter then asks whether developments in the law protecting privacy—particularly in the wake of the Human Rights Act 1998—threaten freedom of expression and therefore the general public’s ‘right’ to information, particularly about celebrities, including royalty and politicians.
Chapter
9. Parliamentary Supremacy and Human Rights
Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter examines the legislative supremacy of the UK Parliament and its impact on human rights protection (and vice versa), discussing the history of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in a UK context and the ECHR’s legal standing. It considers the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) and its operation in the UK. The chapter addresses how the ECHR and the HRA 1998 affect parliamentary supremacy and how the human rights context differs from the former EU context as regards parliamentary supremacy. Finally, it analyses whether parliamentary supremacy provides adequate protection of human rights.
Chapter
4. The Human Rights Act 1998 (1): rights and duties
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter traces the origins of the Human Rights Act, which came about due to a growing sense that UK law was failing to secure and keep pace with emerging international standards of human rights protection. It goes on thoroughly to explain, analyse, and illustrate the main terms of the Act. In particular the duty to interpret statutes for compatibility, if possible, with Convention rights; and the duty on ‘public authorities’ to act in ways which do not violate Convention rights. It considers the new constitutional settlement that the Act brings about and it discusses some of the controversies about its application that have arisen. The final section deals with possible reform.
Chapter
5. The Human Rights Act 1998 (2): proceedings and remedies
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter continues the analysis of the Human Rights Act. It discusses how cases can be brought under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and what remedies are available from the courts if a violation of a Convention right is found. The aim here is to delve deeper into the issue of how the rights of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are given further effect in the law of the UK by the HRA. The main issues discussed in the chapter include the importance of remedies and Article 13 ECHR—the right to a remedy, procedural issues for seeking remedies under the HRA, and remedies available under the HRA.
Chapter
2. The European Convention on Human Rights
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter explores the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It also tackles the general idea of legally protected human rights, which gained momentum towards the end of the Second World War. The United Nations was an inspiration, specifically the organisation’s Charter that adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948. After 1945, the goal was reconstruction, removing the causes of war, and providing protection from any threat a totalitarian government potentially poses. In this regard, two main solutions were adopted: the European Union and the Council of Europe. The chapter aims to distinguish between these two solutions. The principal focus of the chapter is on the Convention system and the obligations of the states which have agreed to its requirements. The nature of the Court and the process of taking a claim through its procedures is explored, as is the system of enforcement.
Chapter
19. Human Rights III: The Human Rights Act 1998
This chapter discusses the main provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and considers its implications for the understandings attached to the core constitutional principles of parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law, and the separation of powers. The chapter argues that the Blair government’s rapid and determined efforts to convince Parliament to pass the HRA demonstrates that members of the first New Labour administration did not share the simplistic view of democracy embraced by the Conservative Party during the judicial supremacism episode. The 1998 Act may be criticised on the basis that it transfers a dangerous amount of political power from the government to the judges, but the sentiments evinced by many Conservative MPs on this issue had little to commend them from a constitutional perspective.
Chapter
8. Interpreting Statutes
This chapter discusses statutory interpretation: the language used in a statute, the application of the language to the facts, or both. It covers the so-called rules of interpretation: the literal rule, the golden rule, the purposive rule, and the mischief rule, and why we still refer to them; examples of the ‘rules’ in action and the reality of their application; secondary aids to construction; the use of Hansard; how judges choose to explain the construction they have placed on the statute; interpretation and the Human Rights Act 1998; interpreting secondary legislation; and an example of how to analyse a case on statutory interpretation.
Chapter
18. Human Rights and the UK Constitution
This chapter examines human rights protection in the UK which is an area in which there is debate and disagreement on a number of fundamental matters and at several levels. It examines the reasons why the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) was enacted, the effects of the HRA, the principal mechanisms through which the HRA affords protection to human rights in UK law, the scope of the HRA, and the debate concerning the potential repeal, reform, or replacement of the HRA. The chapter also introduces the notion of human rights, including the practical and philosophical cases for their legal protection, and the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the HRA gives effect in UK law.
Chapter
18. Control of information, reputation, and intellectual property
This chapter considers the extent to which individuals can and should be able to prevent others referring to them and their activities and, conversely, the extent to which individuals and companies should be able to commercialise and control a reputation that they have built up. The discussions cover the evolving right to personal privacy (through the tort of misuse of private information) and its base in human rights, particularly in respect of photographs; obtaining and dealing with trade marks in respect of well-known personalities; the relationship between passing off and endorsement and merchandising; and the extent to which individuals and businesses can and do control the use of their image through endorsement and sponsorship. The chapter also considers data protection, as well as the balancing of privacy and freedom of expression.
Book
Bernadette Rainey
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. Human Rights Law Concentrate is supported by extensive online resources to take your learning further. It has been written by experts and covers all the key topics so that you can approach your exams with confidence. The clear, succinct coverage enables you to quickly grasp the fundamental principles of this area of law and helps you to succeed in exams. This guide has been rigorously reviewed, and is endorsed by students and lecturers for level of coverage, accuracy, and exam advice. It is clear, concise, and easy to use, helping you get the most out of your revision. After an introduction, the book covers: the European Convention on Human Rights; the Human Rights Act 1998; right to life and freedom from ill treatment; right to liberty and right to fair trial; right to family and private life; freedom of religion and expression; freedom of assembly and association; freedom from discrimination; and terrorism. This, the fourth edition, has been fully updated with all the recent developments in the law.
Chapter
1. The Institutions of Employment Law
This chapter explains the organisation and functions of the following institutions of employment law: the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal; the Supreme Court, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS); the Certification Office; the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC); Director of Labour Market Enforcement; the Equality and Human Rights Commission; the Health and Safety Executive; the Health and Work Advisory and Assessment Service; and the Low Pay Commission. It also discusses the effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and Brexit on UK employment law and the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998 in this area.
Chapter
10. Freedom of Expression
The Concentrate Questions and Answers series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each book includes typical questions, diagram answer plans, caution advice, suggested answers, illustrative diagrams and flowcharts, and advice on gaining extra marks. Concentrate Q&A Human Rights & Civil Liberties offers expert advice on what to expect from your human rights and civil liberties exam, how best to prepare, and guidance on what examiners are really looking for. Written by experienced examiners, it provides: clear commentary with each question and answer; bullet point and diagram answer plans; tips to make your answer really stand out from the crowd; and further reading suggestions at the end of every chapter. The book should help you to: identify typical law exam questions; structure a first-class answer; avoid common mistakes; show the examiner what you know; all making your answer stand out from the crowd. This chapter covers freedom of speech and expression, including the scope of free speech and expression, its protection in domestic law and under the ECHR, and its application to areas such as public order, national security contempt of court, press freedom, and defamation law.
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