ABSTRACT
The first edition of this book dealt in considerable detail with the so-called Bill of Rights debate – the advantages and disadvantages of introducing a written human rights guarantee. It also considered the deficiencies of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the various possible human rights enforcement mechanisms. The reception of the Convention into UK law via the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 has rendered that debate largely defunct, but knowledge of the history of the Convention in the UK remains essential. Political and public support for some form of Bill of Rights grew overwhelming by the mid-1990s, but the resulting statute, the HRA, bears the marks of several compromises. In particular, it represents a compromise between the preservation of parliamentary sovereignty and protection for human rights.
