The Human Rights Act And The United Kingdom Of Great Britain

any scholars have argued that the introduction of the Human Rights Act has fostered a change in the constitutional order, and that parliamentary sovereignty is no longer the main basis of the British Constitution. In order to assess whether the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 fostered a change in the constitutional order and that parliamentary sovereignty is no longer the main basis of the British constitution it is first necessary to understand the British constitution. This essay will analyse the term constitution and its principles, the effects the Humans Rights Act and the European Communities Act had on the Uk Constitution and ultimately explain parliamentary sovereignty and why it is no longer the main basis of the British†¦show more content†¦The limitation of power exists so that exercise of power must conform to notions of respect for individuals and individual rights. Introducing the rule of law, according to Dicey the rule of law has three meanings (a) the supremacy of regular law over arbitrary power (b) equality before the law and (c) no higher law other than the rights of individuals as determined through the courts (Dicey, 1885). When the government is answerable to the law, the court are empowered to make the authoritative determination of what the law is. Laws must be clear, for example in the case of the Burmal Oil Co Ltd v Lord Advocate [1965] the House of Lords upheld the claim for compensation against the crown in respect of damage done by British forces during wartime. It was seen as incompatible with the rule of law and caused the War Damage Act 1965. Control over the discretionary power is essential. Since the British Constitution is un-codified and the rights and duties of citizens are not expressly codified in one central document. The classical British view of rights is that individuals were free to do anything that was not prohibited, the Human Rights Act fostered a change in the constitutional order, as it incorp orated the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights 1951 [ECHR] into the domestic law of the United Kingdom. The separation of powers is a model of government that many