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Human rights and the European Convention

Study note

The UK protects a wide range of human rights, and it has played a part in shaping them internationally. British lawyers helped to write the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty that sets out basic rights and freedoms, and the UK signed it. The Convention includes rights such as the right to life, a ban on torture and slavery, the right to a fair trial, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

For many years these were rights under an international treaty rather than directly part of UK law. That changed with the Human Rights Act 1998, which brought the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law so that people can rely on these rights in British courts. For the test, the key fact is that the Human Rights Act 1998, not Magna Carta or the Bill of Rights, is the Act that incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law.

Memory tip: Human Rights Act 1998 brought the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law.

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Which Act brought the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law?

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Human rights and the European Convention: questions, answers and explanations

  1. 1. Which Act brought the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law?

    • Magna Carta
    • The Human Rights Act 1998
    • The Reform Act 1832
    • The Bill of Rights 1689

    Correct answer: The Human Rights Act 1998

    The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law.

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