ABSTRACT
The European Convention on Human Rights has provided vital protection for citizens against the power of the state. As has been seen, the case law against the United Kingdom is substantial and, in many instances, has led to considerable reform of the law. Nevertheless, the right of individual petition, conferred in 1965, meant long delays and high costs for litigants. The Convention has for the most part, and despite its limitations in scope, served individuals well in the protection of fundamental rights. The incorporation of Convention rights into domestic law was a logical step forward for a government seriously committed to individual rights and freedoms. Incorporation may also change the traditional public conception of individual freedoms in favour of rights, and bring a greater clarity to the law relating to both civil liberties and human rights. It may be argued that the manner of the Convention rights’ incorporation is deficient: that it represents ‘half a loaf’ by allowing for express repeal and for the retention of legislative control by the executive and parliament. Perhaps, however, to state the obvious, half a loaf is better than none.
