Overview

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that by failing to allow litigants to put forward a case based on human rights law in proceedings brought by a local authority, the UK has breached the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case concerned an application to recover possession of property from occupiers whose leases had expired. However, it transcends its immediate context, demonstrating the expanding reach of human rights law.

It shows that human rights principles must be read into any discretionary area of judgment of a public body. Also, that they must be open to consideration by a court, even when operating within a statutory framework that is otherwise comprehensive and makes no obvious allowance for them.