How Effectively Are Rights Protected In The UK?

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How Effectively Are Rights Protected In The UK?

Human Rights within the UK were not totally established within an act or laid down in law until fairly recently, in 2000 when the Human Acts Right of 1998 from the EU came into effect.

This single act has allowed judges more power to help protect the rights and civil liberties of the citizens of the United Kingdom. One of the main ways in which rights are upheld is through the use of judicial reviews, which helps to protect individuals against public authorities and government. For example, in 2000 when 9 Afghan men hijacked a plane in order to escape the Taliban, they came to the UK in order to seek asylum and safety; and after serving prison sentences, the government attempted to deport them back to Afghanistan, but a judge ruled that it would be in breech of their human rights as it would undoubtedly lead to their death. Despite the condemnation from the government and its own wishes, the judges kept themselves separate from politics and effectively protected the rights of those involved.

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Through judicial reviews, individuals and groups can also have their rights upheld. In 1981, there were only 600 judicial reviews, but in the year 2007 there were around 6,000. This rise in numbers gives clear support to the fact that human rights are being protected, or at the very least, they are being challenged. Judges filter out the cases which they believe are weak or unarguable. In the 1950s, the impact of reviews were sporadic and peripheral, however they are presently much more pervasive and have a systematic influence over government policy. For example, in 1997 the government introduced ...

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