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Do Courts Have to Show Deference: Notes on Paul Craig's View on the HRA
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 March 2019
Extract
The 1998 Human Rights Act (HRA) has incorporated the European Convention of Human Rights into English law. Undoubtedly, it constitutes a very important event since it purports to create a new system of rights protection. In order to achieve this aim, the act also introduces some norms empowering the courts to review acts of the legislative and executive branches. The main vehicle for this provision is Section 3 of the Act, (1) which establishes a presumption of compatibility between national legislation and rights laid out in the articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Such a presumption requires courts to systematically attribute to legislation and executive acts the meaning that is most consistent with the protection of rights. Article 3 has been very controversial, (2) particularly concerning the scope of the power it attributes to the courts.
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- Copyright © 2001 by German Law Journal GbR
References
(1) Section 3 (1): So far as it is possible to do so, primary legislation and subordinate legislation must be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with the Convention rights.Google Scholar
(2) Cf. For example, G. Marshall, “Two kinds of incompatibilities: more about Section 3 of the HRA”, …Google Scholar
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