If we have the Human Rights Act, why do we need the ECHR?

The European Court of Human Rights will only hear a case after “all domestic remedies have been exhausted” (Article 35). This means someone must have tried every possible way to get justice in the UK such as by appealing to the public body that made the decision (like a health board or the Department for Work and Pensions), taking a case to a UK court and appealing to a higher court. Without the ECHR, people wouldn’t be able to take cases to the European Court of Human Rights. This would remove people’s last chance at getting justice where their claims are not successful in the UK.

The ECHR is also important for providing oversight and accountability for individual governments. The Council of Europe visits countries signed up to the ECHR and makes recommendations for ways human rights could be better protected.

Similarly, the European Court of Human Rights has been described as “an important source of guidance on issues of principle as well as of legal protection for vulnerable people, including many to whom my mandate extends. The authority and the prestige of the Court have been reinforced both by its accessibility and by its ability to interpret and apply the European Convention on Human Rights as a “living instrument … in the light of present-day”. This also helps ensure there is some consistency between Member States and human rights have a minimum standard of protection everywhere – providing a “floor, not a ceiling” which individual Member States can build on.

Participating in the ECHR is also important for the UK’s international reputation and sets a precedent for other countries who are also committed to human rights protections. Lord Dubs of the Joint Committee on Human Rights said, “it was said to us in Strasbourg that Britain has a reputation for adhering to decisions made by the European Court and has stuck by the European Convention. If we did not, the notorious abusers of human rights would simply say, “If the United Kingdom doesn’t do it, why should we?”