Future of Human Rights in the United Kingdom

Rabinder Singh QC is a Barrister at Matrix Chambers, specialising in public law and human rights.

...his study on the future of human rights in the United Kingdom is an excellent up-to-date analysis of the potential for legal human rights protection in the UK, including the more theoretical aspects. Eileen Wood Immigration and Nationality Law and Practice September 2002 In a provocative and engaging collection of essays Singh charts the emergence of the concept of human rights in common law and the protection of human rights through statutory interpretation. Susan Edwards New Law Journal September 2002 Rabinder Singh suggests that the challenge at the end of the twentieth century is not whether there are human rights but how to make them effective. The ideas in this book, with its emphasis on theory and practice, are likely to bring us closer to meeting this challenge. Stephanie Palmer Cambridge Law Journal February 2003

• Part 1 The protection of human rights in English public law. Part 2 How to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights: introduction - the contents of an incorporation act; the purposes of incorporation; the mechanics of incorporation - eligibility to rely on the ECHR, on whom should the incorporation act be binding?, to what extent should the incorporation act be "entrenched"?, what should the remedies for breach of the CHR under domestic law?, should there be a Human Rights Commission?, should there be a separate constitutional court?; conclusion. Part 3 Of myth and reality - judges as guardians of human rights: the myth of adequate protection by "Wednesbury"; unreasonableness; the myth of judicial supremacism; the myth of negative rights. Part 4 The indirect regulation of speech - a time and a place for everything?: direct and indirect regulation; the American experience - content-based restrictions on speech, regulations of conduct which incidentally affect speech, content-neutral restrictions; an alternative scheme - a new classification, the appropriate degree of protection, "necessary to serve a compelling interest", the target of the regulation, the severity of the restriction, the timing of the restriction, the location of the expressive activity, the width of discretion vested in the state; a case study; conclusion. Part 5 The protection of privacy in English public law. Part 6 Freedom of movement as a human right in English law. Part 7 The future of public interest litigation: introduction; public interest in the past; the private dispute model; the role of non-governmental organisations; supporting individuals; applications by groups; third-party intervention; conclusions.