Judges protect individual rights and freedoms in the UK positively since the Human Right acts 1998 was introduced, which protected the rights of citizens in the UK and reducing the civil liberties faced previously. This essay will show that Judges do protect individual rights and freedoms effectively
Firstly with the introduction of the human rights act it has protected people of the UK means that people can be protected more easily, it incorporates into domestic law the rights and liberties enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. This has been used well in the UK and the one of the main examples of when the human rights act was evident was in 1993 during the killing of toddler Jamie Bulger. The court imposed a lifetime ban on revealing the new identities of Thompson and Venables, the two boys convicted of killing the toddler. The ban was granted on the grounds that identifying them might threaten their right to life and could also result in their being subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment. The court also held that such a ban might protect the boys right to private and family life. However it is seen as controversial that the boys are able to live a life after the actions they did.
Another way in which judges protect the individual rights and freedoms in the UK is by guaranteeing the rule of law, meaning ensuring equal treatment under the law. The rule of law is the way that different aspects of the rule of law principle are applied, depends on the specific situation. The key concepts are that no one can be punished without trial, No one is above the law and all are subject to the same justice. However terrorist suspects have been subject to a range of punishments without trial under measures passed since 2001. Over the years, Parliament has passed laws that limit the application of parliamentary sovereignty. These laws reflect political developments both within