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The Human Rights Act 1998

Friday, 13 March 2026

The Human Rights Act brought the European Human Rights legislation into UK constitution/law.

Additionally, it gave judges the power to declare a bill as incompatibility (“declaration of incompatibility”).

This is done with the expectation that Parliament will amend the act/bill to be more compatible with the Human Rights Act, however Parliament does not have to follow the declaration and can derogate.

Comparison of Like vs. Unlike Fundamental Law

LikeUnlike
Judges can declare incompatibilityGovernment can derogate the declaration of incompatibility
Gives judges a power/rightNo fiscal power