Using Human Rights Law in English Courts

Murray Hunt is Legal Adviser to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, United Kingdom.

• The protection of human rights in English public law. How to incorporate the European Convention on human rights: introduction - the contents of an incorporation act; the purposes of incorporation; the mechanics of incorporation - eligibility to rely on the ECHR, on whom should the incorporation act be binding?, to what extent should the incorporation act be "entrenched"?, what should be the remedies for breach of the ECHR under domestic law?, should there be a Human Rights Commission?, should there be a separate constitutional court?; conclusion. Of myth and reality - judges as guardians of human rights: the myth of adequate protection by "Wednesbury"; unreasonableness; the myth of judicial supremacism; the myth of negative rights. The indirect regulation of speech - a time and a place for everything?: direct and indirect regulation; the American experience - content-based restrictions on speech, regulations of conduct which incidentally affect speech, content-neutral restrictions; an alternative scheme - a new classification, the appropriate degree of protection; "necessary to serve a compelling interest" - the target of the regulation, the severity of the restriction, the timing of the restricting, the location of the expressive activity, the width of discretion vested in the state; a case study; conclusion. The protection of privacy in English public law. Freedom of movement as a human right in English law. The future of public interest litigation: introduction; public interest litigation in the past; the private dispute model; the role of non-governmental organisations - supporting individuals, applications by groups; third-party intervention; conclusions.

This excellent book will be welcomed by all lawyers who are interested in administrative and constitutional law, academics, practitioners and judges alike. It is written in a lucid style; and its arguments, some of which are provocative and controversial, are all marshalled with great clarity. The Hon. Sir John Dyson Judicial Review Jan 07 His work will make an important contribution towards educating those judges and lawyers who need to learn the language of legal rights to make the new Bill of Rights work effectively. David Pannick The Times Law Section 2002 It is a work that will repay repeated study...Using Human Rights Law announces Murray Hunt as a potentially important player in the future development of English public law. Ian Loveland Public Law 2002 [a book] from which all concerned with the development of public law, whether as judges, advocates or academics, will undoubtedly derive great benefit. Martin Loughlin Modern Law Review 2002 ...important and meticulously researched...The incorporation of the ECHR, together with Scottish devolution and further European integration, bring unprecedented challenges which will test the boundaries of the English legal imagination. Judges prepared to expand the existing horizon could do worse than read this book for helpful guidelines... Stephen Tierney European Public Law 2002 ...highly recommended as an essential and, somewhat unusually, very readable text for all those interested in or concerned with the use of international human rights law in English Courts and Tribunals. Tim Eicke Immigration and Nationality Law and Practice 2002 ...Hunt's work can be recommended unreservedly to lawyers across a wide field, not only in England, and will appeal to academics and practitioners alike. Professor Hugh Corder University of Toronto Law Journal 2002 ...a remarkable work of legal scholarship... Professor J.B. Ojwang Netherlands International Law Review 2002 ...an outstanding book... Roger Brownsword British Yearbook of International Law 2002