Role of Courts in Fulfilling the Objectives of the Human Rights Act 19 Research Paper

Role of Courts in Fulfilling the Objectives of the Human Rights Act 1998 - Research Paper Example The author of the paper states that the discrepancy created, in determining as to who constitutes a public authority, by the UK courts has adversely affected human rights protection. The failure of the courts to properly utilize the mandate given to them by Parliament, in this context, has proved to be unfair and biased towards individuals; thereby violating the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998. As such the present status of the case law, in this regard, has proved to be irreconcilable with the objectives set out by Parliament. The Courts have been interpreting the provisions of section 6(3) (b) in a narrow way so that most of the organizations are not covered by the definition of Public Authority. The result is that the rights provided by the European Convention are not being implemented properly. Furthermore, courts are determining whether a regulatory body can be considered as a public authority, under the purview of s 6(3)(b), Human Rights Act, on the basis of their instit utional position. In the Aston Cantlow case, the House of Lords had opined that there was a need to adopt a different approach while dealing with important public authorities. This new approach was to be different from that adopted in cases involving functional agencies. Under Section 6(1) of the Human Rights Act, such core public authorities have to invariably ensure that the rights provided by the Convention are respected in their activities, irrespective of public or private activities. Section 6(3) (b) of the Human Rights Act stipulates that the core authorities are under an obligation to ensure that the rights of Convention had been adhered to in their public functions. According to Lord Hope, there should be a clear demarcation between the public and private functions of core authorities, as required by Section 6(3) (b) of the Human Rights Act. This particular section has wide applicability and is dependent to a large extent on the various factors involved in any particular ca se. The function performed by any particular authority determines whether that authority is a core public authority.