Civil Liberties Pre-1997

How were civil liberties protected in the UK?

• Maintaining Civil Liberties is a key feature of a Liberal Democracy
• Civil Liberties establish the relationship between the State and the individual and protect the citizen from Government interference
• In the UK, protection of Civil Liberties has traditionally been seen as weak in comparison to other countries such as France and the USA (because unlike those countries, we do not have a Bill of Rights)
• Before the Human Rights Act 1998 – UK relied on Common Law belief that “everything is permitted unless it is prohibited” (very difficult in practice to uphold)
• Also – limited ways of seeking redress if you thought your civil liberties had been taken away – contact MP/Councillor/Ombudsman

Civil Liberties deemed under threat in the 1990s

• 1990s = growing concern that Civil Liberties were under serious threat
• This was due to a number of developments which amounted to a growth in the power of the State eg:
• Increases in Police power – Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 and Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
• 1980s legislation limiting Trade Union activity
• Increasing amounts of information about individual citizens being held by the State/agencies (eg: NHS)/DNA databases/Surveillance cameras
• threats to trial by Jury
• Issues relating to treatment of terror suspects/asylum seekers
• General fear that executive power was growing and Parliament was becoming less effective at limiting this growth

What could you do if you thought that your civil liberties had been taken away/eroded before the HRA?

• Before the HRA 98 – rights in UK = 2 main sources – statute law (eg: Habeas Corpus) and Common Law (so you could use the British courts to enforce your civil liberties)
• A citizen could also appeal to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that the action of their State contravened the convention on Human Rights (UK had signed up to the European Convention of Human Rights in the 1950s)
• This was not satisfactory – slow and expensive
• Also – The European Convention was NOT binding on British Govt.
• Labour Party recognised this – Manifesto for 1997 election = 2 measures to strengthen the protection of Civil Liberties – FOIA 2000 and HRA 98