Human rights in the United Kingdom

The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights (1689)
Ratified	December 16, 1689
Location	Parliamentary Archives
Author(s)	Parliament of England
Purpose	Assert certain rights.

Human rights in the United Kingdom are set out in common law, with its strongest roots being in the Bill of Rights 1689, as well as the European legislation. At the same time, it has been alleged that the UK has also had a history of both de jure and de facto discrimination, and, in recent history, occasional violations of basic human rights, particularly in times of national security crises, or regarding the rights of migrants, the unemployed, and the disabled. In recent years, however, British human rights legislation has been criticised by some for what they perceive as excessive attention to the human rights of offenders at the expense of those of victims; high-profile cases, such as those of Learco Chindamo and the 2006 Afghan hijackers, have attracted controversy, sparking calls for the review of the Human Rights Act 1998 and other legislation. David Cameron in his second ministry announced plans to replace the Human rights Act with a "British Bill of Rights".

Magna Carta, issued in 1215, explicitly protected certain rights of the King's subjects and restricted the power of the King of England. It implicitly supported what became the writ of habeas corpus, safeguarding individual freedom against unlawful imprisonment with right to appeal. After the first representative English parliament in 1265, the emergence of petitioning in the 13th century is some of the earliest evidence of parliament being used as a forum to address the general grievances of ordinary people.

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