Old roots: from Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights
Respect for individual rights and basic freedoms has a long history in Britain, going back many hundreds of years. Three old documents stand out, and all three appear in the history stories:
- 1215Magna Carta: even the king must obey the law
- 1679The Habeas Corpus Act: nobody may be held prisoner unlawfully
- 1689The Bill of Rights: where Parliament's rights end and the monarch's power begins
- 1950The UK signs the European Convention on Human Rights
- 1998The Human Rights Act brings the Convention into UK law (in force from 2000)
These rights didn't appear overnight. They grew bit by bit over several centuries.
Quiz
Which of the following statements is correct?
Rights in the UK have a long history, rooted in Magna Carta (1215), the Habeas Corpus Act (1679) and the Bill of Rights (1689). The Human Rights Act 1998 brought the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law; it was not where rights began.