Human Rights Act 1998 Analysis

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1.1.1 The Effectiveness of The Human Rights Act 1998 This section provides a summary of the main findings of major reviews that have been conducted on the effectiveness of the Human Rights Act by the government, the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Commission. The reviews indicated that the Human Rights Act has largely had a positive impact on public service delivery and the enjoyment of human rights. However, there are a number of barriers to the Human Rights Act's effectiveness: significant misconceptions about the Human Rights Act are held by sections of the media, general public and at times public authorities (including by frontline staff in public authorities on when the Human Rights Act is not relevant), a need to improve understanding…show more content…
A culture needs to be developed that is less risk averse to ensure that misconceptions around human rights are not in any way preventing the effective delivery of policy. To an extent this may arise from a lack of central co-ordination and consistency on messages being circulated to agencies on the approach to adopt when balancing rights. However, there may also be a fear of litigation that may encourage those who develop guidance to be cautious in their…show more content…
The Commission published its final report in June 2009 and some of the key findings and recommendations of the inquiry have important ramifications for the CBR. These are detailed below: General findings • The fundamental principles set out in the HRA closely reflect our traditional values of fairness and justice, and the universal standards to which every democratic government is committed. Polling evidence shows that 84 per cent of people want human rights enshrined in the law for themselves and their families. • Human rights are not merely abstract concepts – they are also an effective tool for delivering organisational success and better services to the public. A true understanding of human rights as a tool to improving people’s lives is not widespread: there is a general consensus that improved knowledge and understanding is essential. Effectiveness of the Human Rights Act • There are significant misunderstandings and misconceptions about human rights, and which remain largely unchallenged, leading to both service users and service providers being uninformed about their rights and

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