Every student studying the law of England and Wales, and that of Northern Ireland and Scotland, has to study the law of the European Community, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). Community law is part of the domestic law of the United Kingdom and, by virtue of its supremacy, takes priority over it in the event of a conflict between them. The United Kingdom ratified the ECHR in 1951, which, prior to 2000, was part of our law albeit in limited circumstances, but it was not until the enactment of the HRA, introduced in order to ‘bring rights home’, that the ECHR became part of our constitution.

Without attempting to be comprehensive, this chapter outlines some key features of the European Union and of Community law, and of the HRA as they affect the preparation and interpretation of the law of England and Wales. The obligations that they place on Her Majesty's Government, the United Kingdom Parliament, the devolved institutions, and the judiciary are to be understood against the background of the traditional understandings of the legislative supremacy of Parliament and of the judicial role in the interpretation of statutes. Consistent with the purpose of this book, the following sections are intended to be only an introduction.