What Is Public Authority

After World War 2, 48 nations from the UN came together to form the Universal Declaration of Human rights. A few years later, the rights listed in the UDHR were used to form the basis of the European Convention of Human rights. This is an “international treaty to protect human rights in Europe”. This convention established the European court of human rights in Strasbourg. In 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998 was passed which meant that the government had to “explain how new laws are human rights compatible and courts must try to interpret old ones that way too.” This also meant public authorities such as the police were under a legal obligation to treat citizens of the UK in a way that does not violate their rights. In this way, I will extensively …show more content…
However, a public authority will not be acting unlawfully if the terms in primary legislation require to act in a certain way which is against the convention right s6 (2). A public authority is not specifically defined. Per S6 (3), public authorities include: “(a) a court or tribunal” and “(b) any person certain of whose functions are functions of a public nature.” This definition does not include House of Parliament. The police in the case of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billsley Parochial Churcil Council v Wallbank (2003) were referred to as a “core” public authority. . For police to be not in breach of s6 when imposing conditions on the protest, it must first be determined whether the police is carrying out a public function. In Aston Catlow, Lord Nicholls said this when deciding whether a function is public: “Factors to be taken into account include the extent to which in carrying out the relevant function the body is publicly funded, or is exercising statutory powers, or is taking the place of central government or local authorities, or is providing a public service”. In Yl v Birmingham City Council (2007), Baroness Hale identified the following factors as relevant to identifying what constitutes a public function: whether there is a close connection between the service provided and the core values underlying the convention rights and the public interest in having that task undertaken. Using the Aston Cantlow case, the police are a public authority and this allows them to act in a certain way to make sure the protest is safely conducted so it does not endanger public safety. Using the conditions set out in YL v Birmingham City Council, there is a very close connection between how the police will act and the convention rights of SISIS and Yusaf Smith. If the police overstep their boundaries and deny Yusaf Smith or the