The Influence Of The European Convention On Human Rights On The British Constitution

For the protection of human rights and the maintenance of the peace,several major European countries have established the Council of Europe as a political organization.The European Convention on Human Rights,which was drafted and adopted by the Council of Europe,was known as the "The jewel in the crown".The Convention implements the rights provided in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as legally binding principles and rules,establishes supervisory authorities and creates mechanisms for the inter-State allegations and individual complaints procedures.This is the first regional human rights protection mechanism in the international community.This mechanism effectively promotes the protection of the fundamental rights of European countries.On one hand,the differences between the rights stipulated in the Convention and the fundamental rights of the State parties have promoted the reform of domestic practice—the State parties have incorporated the Convention into the domestic law system through different forms;on the other hand,The individual complaints procedures allow individuals to claim their fundamental rights at the international level,which leads to the review of legislation of the State parties by the European Court of Human Rights.The United Kingdom was an active advocate of the Council of Europe and played an important role in the drafting and implementation of the Convention,but it was reluctant to incorporate the Convention into its domestic law,which was the results from its maintenance of its fundamental constitutional principle,namely,parliamentary sovereignty.Prior to 2000,the Convention did not have formal legal status in the United Kingdom,but the courts had begun to refer to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights when interpreting the law;the United Kingdom incorporated the Convention into the domestic law through the Human Rights Act 1998.The Act incorporates the rights of the Convention into domestic law and has made a series of institutional arrangements for the realization of the rights.Most of all,the English courts are entitled the legal power to review parliamentary legislation,which is regarded as "weak constitution review".With the emergence of the first comprehensive list of rights,the establishment of a weak constitution review system and the interaction between the European Court of Human Rights and the United Kingdom,there comes a trend in the British Constitution toward codification,parliamentary sovereignty has been limited and the approaches of protecting fundamental rights have changed.It is also noteworthy that there has been different voices in the UK about the enactment of a bill of rights;in recent years,the relationship between the UK and the European Court of Human Rights has also shown some divergence.By observing the process of interaction between the European Convention on Human Rights and the British Constitution,it will inspire the understanding of how to achieve the balance between internationalization of international human rights law and the margin of appreciation of the State parties.This article is divided into three parts:introduction,main body and conclusion.The introduction part consists of the research object,the research overview,the research significance and the research methods.The main body is divided into four chapters.The first chapter is The United Kingdom and the European Convention on Human Rights.I am to explore the background of the Convention and the main development by the use of historical analysis,summarize the main content of the Convention and the implementation mechanism to show which kinds of rights and through what kinds of procedures the rights could be protected,then try to sum up the main features of the Convention and in the end describe the change in the attitude of the British toward the Convention.The second chapter is The Influence on the Tradition of the Unwritten Constitution.The Human Rights Act 1998 is the codification of fundamental rights,this chapter also the main use of historical analysis of the method.The third chapter is The Influence on Parliamentary Sovereignty.The meaning of parliamentary sovereignty is first introduced,followed by that how the implementation of the Convention has made the British Parliament's sovereignty limited.Especially after the 1998 Human Rights Act,the parliamentary legislation began to be subject to the review both in the international and domestic level.The literature research method and the historical analysis are used in this chapter.The fourth chapter is The Influence on the Protection of the Fundamental Rights.First,it summarizes what changes have taken place in the institution,principles and basis of the protection of the fundamental rights.Second,the author analyzes what kinds of rights have been influenced by introducing some specific cases.And the influence results from the reference by the British Courts to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and also from the interaction between the European Court of Human Rights and the Britain.It is also noteworthy that there is some dissonance in the interaction between the Convention and the United Kingdom.The method of case analysis is mainly used in this chapter.On the basis of reviewing and summarizing the whole text,the author puts forward some enlightening conclusions.First,the international human rights protection mechanism has effectively promoted the protection of human rights and the case law accumulated in the operation is useful for the interpretation of the fundamental rights of the domestic courts.Secondly,the concept of human rights is still highly controversial,and the interpretation of human rights can not be divorced from the economic,social and historical factors of a country,and can not depart from democratic legitimacy;and thirdly,it would contribute to the positive interaction between the international human rights protection mechanism and the member states if the margin of appreciation was less interfered.