The Human Rights Framework




The Framework of Human Rights Law is drawn from the following sources:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
This is commonly seen as the foundation of international Human Rights Law.  Adopted in 1948 it has been an inspiration for a wealth of international treaties and other instruments which form the backbone of Human Rights Law

International treaties (including UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)

International treaties place on signatory States certain obligations and duties under international law.  In order to ratify these treaties, Governments undertake to put into place domestic measures and legislation compatible with their treaty obligations and duties.It is the domestic legal system, therefore, that provides the principal legal protection of human rights guaranteed under international law.

European Convention on Human Rights
The ECHR was drafted in the aftermath of the Second World War as part of a wider response of the Allied Powers in delivering a human rights agenda through which it was believed that the most serious human rights violations which had occurred during the  War could be avoided in the future.

Human Rights Act 1998 and Scotland Act 1998
These make provision for the rights contained in The European Convention of Human Rights to be enforced domestically in Scottish Courts and ultimately the Supreme Court.  This does not effect the rights of individuals to take matters to the European Court of Human Rights

Last modified: Thursday, 30 January 2020, 12:18 PM