Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Public authority definition

What does Public authority mean? In legal practice, a public authority is an organisation that performs public functions or statutory duties, often substantially publicly funded or under governmental control (for example central or local government, NHS bodies, police and regulators) and, in some contexts, privately owned or third-sector providers delivering outsourced services. The term has no single definition; its scope is context-specific. In the UK, key regimes define it variously: Human Rights Act 1998 s.6 (core and hybrid public authorities); Freedom of Information Act 2000/FOISA 2002 (primarily listed bodies); Environmental Information Regulations (functional/control test); Data Protection Act 2018 (UK GDPR) adopting the FOI lists; and Equality...

Horizontal Effect of Convention Rights in Private Disputes under the Human Rights Act 1998: Courts as Public Authorities, Statutory Interpretation, Common Law Development and Limits after McDonald

Published by a LexisNexis Public Law expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note examines the court’s status as a Public authority for the purposes of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998), and the implications for judgments addressing relationships between non-state persons (private individuals)—the so‑called horizontal effect of Convention rights.

Horizontal effect of the European Convention on Human Rights

The UK was among the first signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, also known as the Convention), yet before HRA 1998 the ECHR was treated merely as an international treaty, not directly enforceable by private individuals against each other in the domestic courts. Its aim was to protect fundamental rights from state interference, ie ‘vertical effect’. When HRA 1998 came into force in 2000, it deliberately and significantly altered this position; however, it made no specific provision for the enforceability of Convention rights between private individuals. Section 6(1) HRA nonetheless makes it unlawful for a public authority to act in a way that is ‘incompatible’ with Convention rights, and domestic courts fall within the definition of ‘public authority’. This has prompted a great deal...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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