Principles of law

QUESTION:

To what extent has the Human Rights Act 1998 fully implemented the European Convention on Human Rights into the UK legal system?

OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this written assignment is for the candidate to provide a comprehensive description of the extent to which rights granted under the European Convention on Human Rights, (“the ECHR”), have been incorporated into UK law by virtue of the Human Rights Act 1998, (“HRA 1998”).

TASKS:

You should provide a comprehensive description of the ECHR. In particular you should provide a descriptive analysis of the nature of human rights provided by the Convention. It might be helpful to explain the difference between absolute, limited and qualified rights. Your assignment should mention at least three of the Convention rights – There is no need to provide details of all the rights indicated in the Convention and indeed you should be aware of the overall word count parameters of the assignment. It might also be helpful to provide a brief description of how the ECHR came into existence, the role of the Council of Europe and the function of the European Court of Human Rights, (“the ECtHR”). However, you should remember that this is a law assignment and not a historical and/or political assessment. You should therefore avoid providing a detailed historical description and you should avoid political analysis.

You should also provide an analysis of the HRA 1999. It would be helpful to provide a description of the main provisions of this statute and how the HRA 1999 has implemented Convention rights into UK law. You should provide a description of the impact of the statute on domestic law and in doing so you should also provide examples from the numerous case law that is available. You are additionally expected to provide a conclusion which addresses both parts of the question and assesses whether the Convention has been fully implemented into UK law.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

You should present the assignment in the form of an essay of not more than 1500 words. You will be expected to refer to the recommended textbook, Law for Business Students, Adams, A. (8th Edition). Credit will be given where you have clearly shown independent research by reference to other relevant textbooks, internet resources and legal journals/articles – In such event you should provide a detailed bibliography identifying your sources. The bibliography does not form part of the overall word count.

ASSESSMENT:

Marks will be given for:

• Quality of response to the presented question coupled with critical analysis.
• Demonstrating a broad knowledge and general understanding of the main areas covered by the presented question.
• Demonstrating awareness and understanding of the specific issues raised by the presented question.
• Collection, comparison and synthesising relevant information from different sources.
• Presentation of an analytical conclusion in response to the presented question.