ABSTRACT
The impact of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 will largely depend on
the stance of the judiciary. Under s 3 of the HRA, the judiciary must
interpret legislation if at all possible so as to comply with the Convention
rights and, under s 2, they must take the Strasbourg jurisprudence into
account. Section 6 provides that public authorities, including courts, are
bound by the rights. In considering these sections, the judiciary have the
opportunity of taking an activist or a minimalist approach. In other
words, they can seek to give the rights genuine efficacy or they can adopt
the interpretation which will cause least disturbance to the existing order.
