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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 July 2018
Are we defined by the choices we make or the duties we owe? This paper argues that there is a conflict between the fundamental conception of the individual as possessing the capacity to choose how to live, which has been held to be the foundation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the understanding of the individual as a bearer of duties which has long underpinned the UK Constitution. Through case law analysis, it is shown that the tension between these two understandings of the individual underlies the troubled acceptance of the Human Rights Act 1998, and influences the UK judiciary's substantive interpretations of the Convention rights. It is ultimately argued that for the Convention rights to be fully accepted in the UK, the evolution from a duty to a choice-based understanding of the individual, which was artificially accelerated by the Human Rights Act, must be more widely accepted by society and the courts.
I am extremely grateful for the help and advice of Chris Castell, Emma Cave, Aoife O'Donoghue, Murat Erdoğan, Jack Hepworth, William Lucy, Roger Masterman, Matthew Nicholson, Shaun Pattinson, Rachel Scarfe and Marion Tait who read drafts of this paper; to Amanda Taylor Aiken whose conversation started the train of thought that led to this article; and to the anonymous reviewers for their comments and encouragement. Any errors are my own.
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102 Bingham, above n 61, pp 12–13.
103 Government of Wales Act 1998; Northern Ireland Act 1998; and Scotland Act 1998.
104 Commission on a Bill of Rights, above n 1.
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112 Ibid, at 813 and 815; and Wicks, above n 110, at 446.
113 Marston, above n 108, at 816.
114 Wicks, above n 110, at 444.
115 Ibid, at 447–449.
116 Marston, above n 108, at 814.
117 Ibid, at 816.
118 Wicks, above n 110, at 445.
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127 The Conservative Party, above n 1.
128 Ibid, pp 4 and 5.
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134 [1993] AC 789.
135 [2001] Fam 147.
136 Suicide Act 1961, s 1; and Nicklinson, above n 9, at [90], cf [212] where Lord Sumption argued that decriminalisation did not reflect a change in morality from duty to the maximisation of autonomy, but was done because it was felt that criminalising it was ‘inhuman and ineffective’.
137 R (Pretty) v DPP [2001] UKHL 61; Purdy, above n 8; Nicklinson, above n 9.
138 Bland, above n 134, at 825; approved Nicklinson, above n 9, at [199] (Lord Wilson).
139 Bland, above n 134, at 825.
140 Ibid, at 827.
141 Ibid, at 833.
142 Ibid, at 827 and 829–830.
143 Ibid, at 803.
144 Ibid, at 859.
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147 Ibid, at 239.
148 Ibid, at 186–188 (Ward LJ), 211–212 (Brooke LJ) and 258 (Walker LJ).
149 Pattinson, above n 145.
150 Re A, above n 135, at 196 (emphasis added).
151 Ibid, at 239 (emphasis added).
152 Ibid, at 239.
153 Ibid, at 240.
154 Ibid, at 255 (emphasis added).
155 Ibid, at 258 (emphasis added).
156 Ibid, at 259.
157 Ibid, at 187–188, 196 (Ward LJ), 214 (Brooke LJ) and 243 (Walker LJ).
158 Above n 137.
159 Ibid, at [109] (Lord Hobhouse); see also [5] (Lord Bingham), [59] (Lord Steyn) and [87] (Lord Hope).
160 Ibid, at [109].
161 Ibid, at [54].
162 Ibid, at [110]–[111].
163 Ibid, at [23] (Lord Bingham), [61] (Lord Steyn) and [100] (Lord Hope).
164 Ibid, at [23] and [61].
165 Ibid, at [18].
166 Ibid, at [100].
167 Pretty, above n 3, at [39].
168 Above text to n 24; and ibid, at [65].
169 Pretty, above n 3, at [61].
170 Ibid, at [62].
171 Ibid, at [62] and [67].
172 Ibid, at [65].
173 Purdy, above n 8, at [53]–[54] and [56].
174 Ibid, at [32], [38], [60], [61], [71] and [82].
175 Ibid, at [38], citing Pretty, above n 3, [65].
176 Nicklinson, above n 9.
177 Ibid, at [95]; see also [96]–[98].
178 Ibid, at [208].
179 Ibid, at [208].
180 Ibid, at [263]; cf Countryside Alliance, above n 60, at [10]–[15] and [138]–[139].
181 Nicklinson, above n 9, at [160].
182 Ibid, at [171] (Lord Mance), [228]–[229] (Lord Sumption) and [311] (Lady Hale).
183 Ibid, at [199] (Lord Wilson) and [209] (Lord Mance).
184 Ibid, at [113] (Lord Neuberger), [188] (Lord Mance), [201] (Lord Wilson), [234] (Lord Sumption), [267] (Lord Hughes), [290] (Lord Clarke) and [297]–[298] (Lord Reed).
185 Re JR38 [2015] UKSC 42.
186 [2004] EWHC 1879 (Admin); and [2005] EWCA Civ 1003.
187 Re JR38, above n 185, at [86]–[88].
188 Ibid, at [100].
189 Ibid, at [97]–[98].
190 Ibid, at [99]–[100].
191 Ibid, at [37], quoting PG v UK (2001) 46 EHRR 1272 at [56].
192 Re JR38, above n 185, at [38], [41] and [54], [56]–[57] and [64].
193 Ibid, at [36].
194 Ibid, at [50], [53] and [55].
195 Ibid, at [63] and [78]–[80].
196 Ibid, at [105] and [110].
197 Ibid, at [110].
198 Ibid, at [113]–[115].
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200 A case in which he was council for the Official Solicitor acting as guardian ad litem.
201 Burke, High Court, above n 186, at [130], [166] and [178].
202 Ibid, at esp [73]–[75] and [166] and Pattinson, above n 199, p 259.
203 Burke, High Court, above n 186, at [80].
204 Ibid.
205 Burke, Court of Appeal, above n 186, at [39]–[40]; and Pattinson, above n 199, pp 258 and 260.
206 Pattinson, above n 199, p 260.
207 For example Re G (Children) [2012] EWCA Civ 1233 at [60], [80] and [82] (Munby LJ giving judgment for the court); A v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56 at [81] (Lord Nicholls), cf [191] (Lord Walker); and Ghaidan v Mendoza [2004] UKHL 30 at [17] (Lord Nicholls) and [132] (Lady Hale).
208 Above n 131.
