03. How does the Human Rights Act work?

Not all the rights in the Convention and its protocols have become part of British law. The ones that have are called the Convention rights. Some of the rights that have been left out may be added later. The Convention rights are very broad, and the Act affects many areas of the law. The way they a e interpreted will continue to develop over time.

The courts in Britain have to look at existing laws and see how they fit in with Convention rights. If they don't fit in with Convention rights, the laws should be made to fit where possible. Public authorities, such as the police, local councils and the Benefits Agency, have to follow the Human Rights Act. Some organisations are public authorities at some times but not at others. For example, a security company is a public authority when it is working for the prison service but not when it is doing private security work.

Sometimes the rights of different people clash, and the courts have to find a balance between these rights. For example, animal rights protesters may use the rights to freedom of expression (Article 10) and freedom of assembly (Article 11) to argue that they should be allowed to protest outside the homes of scientists who do animal experiments. The scientists may use the right to respect for their home (Article 8) to try to stop the protest.