The Human Rights Act, Dialogue and Constitutional Principles
The Human Rights Act, Dialogue and Constitutional Principles
This chapter considers the relationship between the Human Rights Act (HRA) and existing key principles of the UK constitution. It proposes that rather than asking how far the HRA is transforming the existing constitution, a more fruitful approach assumes that each acts upon the other. In light of this discussion, it goes on to consider particular arguments about the balance between judicial and legislative power under the HRA. First, it suggests that, contrary to a widely held view, s.3 has been used not more but less than Parliament was led to expect at the time the HRA was passed. Second, it examines recent episodes of inter-institutional disputes about rights in the light of dialogic theories which assume that governments welcome s.4 declarations as triggering an honest debate about rights; it suggests that such theories diverge sharply from political reality.
Keywords: Human Rights Act, constitutional dialogue, interpretation, declarations of incompatibility, constitutionalism
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