INTRODUCTION

The European Convention on Human Rights – in full the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms – (the Convention) was ratified by the British Government on 8 March 1951. The Convention came into force on 23 September 1953. At that time, there was no right of individual petition, nor would the UK accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights in individual cases in UK courts. To date there have been some 50 judgments in UK cases in the European Court of Human Rights finding breaches of Convention rights. The passing of the Human Rights Act 1998 represents the culmination of political pressure (first voiced publicly in 1968) for the incorporation of Convention rights by statute into UK law.