The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) sets out our basic human rights and provides a framework within which the Scottish Government and all other public bodies must act.
The ECHR has been in existence since the 1950s, but was given legal force in Scotland through the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Scotland Act 1998. The Convention rights are set out in Schedule 1 to the Human Rights Act.
Under the Human Rights Act, all public authorities in Scotland, whether reserved or devolved, must act in accordance with the Convention rights in everything they do: this includes private bodies that are carrying out public functions.
The Scotland Act places a specific duty on Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament to act in accordance with the 'Convention rights'. In addition, under the Scotland Act every Executive Bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament must be certified by a Scottish Government Minister as compliant with the Convention rights.
Together, these Acts provide a framework within which Ministers, the Parliament and public authorities must operate in conducting their activities, the aim of which is to ensure that our human rights are properly protected and that we are able to claim the protection of the 'Convention rights' in our own national courts.
The Scotland Act and the Human Rights Act mean that the Convention rights are directly enforceable in domestic law. The Scottish Government cannot give legal advice to individuals about their cases. Anyone who believes that their Convention rights may have been infringed by a public authority may therefore wish to consult a solicitor. The Law Society of Scotland can provide information about which solicitors deal with human rights cases.