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The Uk's Healthcare Law Service
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On 2 October this year [2000] The Human Rights Act 1998 came into force giving effect to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in UK Law. After the Act comes in force:- * Legislation will have to be interpreted subject to convention rights, if possible *Public authorities will have to respect convention rights *Courts and
tribunals will have to give remedies for human rights violations * The right to life; * The right to liberty; * The right to fair procedures in criminal and civil proceedings; * The right to respect for privacy; * The right to freedom of expression; *The right to equality; *The right to property. Quite what
the practical effect of applying these convention rights to UK law will
have in the healthcare industry remains to be seen but we have already
observed how lawyers in one milestone case, Devon Health Authority ex
Parte Coughlan, argued successfully that Ms Coughlan’s article 8 rights
(the right to respect privacy) were relevant in seeking relief effectively
to secure her entitlement to remain under the care of a particular health
authority in a particular home, having been promised as much. |
There are many
circumstances in which I have acted for people denied this basic right. I hope
this will strengthen home owners’ positions and those of their advisers and
serve as a reminder to those in power that everyone has the right to be
heard before any decision is made which may damage them. I propose to produce a
more in-depth analysis of the key provisions of this legislation in future
issues dealing with my expectations as to the particular impact it will have
upon the care home sector (yes, home owners have rights too!)
For the time being I will end with this:
Extraordinary though in many respects this new Act is, it really only states or
re-states certain basic propositions to which I imagine all normal people will
aspire, these include:
· Respect for parliamentary democracy;
· Respect for civil liberties;
· Respect for human dignity;
· The principle that all intrusions into a person’s rights should at very
least be positively sanctioned by law.
Let’s not be frightened to applaud and embrace new legislation which bolsters
our legal rights as individuals - wherever it may be born. The temptation to
ignore the rights of the individual in the face of seemingly unarguable demands
for more protection for the public as a whole is very real. This sort of
legislation one hopes will help maintain a balance.
(c)Robert Campbell December 2000. The author is a solicitor, Principal of Robert
Cambell Company specialising in healthcare law and employment law.
Telephone: 0870
2412139
E-mail: Click here
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