Human rights

The Human Rights Act 1998 requires public bodies to act compatibly with a wide range of the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

• For public authorities other than the Scottish Government, the only exception to this is where a duty under primary legislation made at the UK Parliament means that they cannot do otherwise.
• The Scotland Act 1998 obliges the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament to act compatibly with both human rights and European law.