Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

HRA definition

What does HRA mean? HRA is used in legal practice to refer to: 1) The Human Rights Act 1998, the UK statute giving effect to ECHR rights in domestic law. It requires courts to interpret legislation compatibly where possible (section 3), makes it unlawful for public authorities to act incompatibly (section 6), and enables claims and declarations of incompatibility (sections 7 and 4). It applies in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; Ireland uses the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003. 2) Habitats Regulations Assessment, the screening and, where needed, Appropriate Assessment of plans and projects for likely significant effects on European sites (SACs/SPAs)....

Litigating and defending human rights claims under the Human Rights Act 1998: Convention rights, public authorities, victim status, incompatibility, time limits and damages

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Practice notes

Under the Human Rights Act 1998 (hra 1998), all public authorities in the UK are required to act consistently with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), namely the ‘Convention rights’. For further reading, see Practice Note: Convention rights. If this obligation is breached, the HRA 1998 allows any victim to bring proceedings against the public authority at fault (HRA 1998, s 7(1)(a)). Additionally, a victim may rely on their Convention rights in any legal proceedings (HRA 1998, s 7(1)(b)).

Background—the relationship between the ECHR and the HRA 1998

The ECHR (the ‘Convention’, as set out in HRA 1998, Sch 1 Pt 1) is an international treaty concluded by the member states of the Council of Europe. Under Article 1, each contracting state must secure the Convention rights for everyone within its jurisdiction. The Convention also established the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg to determine complaints by individuals and states concerning breaches of Convention rights. However, Article 35 of the ECHR provides that individuals may only lodge a complaint with the ECtHR once they...

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Eric Metcalfe

Monckton Chambers

Eric Metcalfe is a barrister at Monckton Chambers specialising in public law, EU law and human rights. Called to the Bar in 1999, he spent almost nine years as the director of human rights policy at JUSTICE before joining Monckton in 2011. He is listed by the Legal 500 as a leading junior in the field of Civil Liberties and Human Rights. His most recent cases include R(Public Law Project) v Secretary of State for Justice [2014] EWHC 2365 (Admin) and Bingham Centre v Information Commissioner (EA/2014/0097), and he is currently instructed by Liberty in proceedings before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal against the UK intelligence services.PublicationsContributor to the Rights and Freedoms volume of the 5th edition of Halsbury’s Laws (LexisNexis, 2013).Editor in Chief of the Human Rights Law Reports - UK Cases (Sweet &...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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