Human Rights Update from One Crown Office Row
Report by Delia Venables
One Crown Office Row has launched a major new free resource on the web at www.humanrights.org.uk. It is a database of 400 reports and commentaries on civil cases dating back to 1998 and updated weekly. The cases are taken from domestic courts and the Strasbourg court involving human rights points that demonstrate the impact of the European Convention on domestic law and the site also explores the practical impact of these cases for practitioners.
For the last three years, the material has only been provided via the Lawtel (paid) service but now the resource is being made free for all to use.
The site is divided into 25 practice areas including education, employment, family, environment, medical and immigration. Some areas are further subdivided. Listed with each practice area are relevant cases, each with a short summary, a report of the judgment and a comment. Cases can be found under multiple work areas, as appropriate, or under the corresponding Incorporated Rights.
The whole database is edited and largely written by Rosalind English, former public law academic and now an associate member of One Crown Office Row. Other barristers there are also writing reports within the overall framework.
There is a good search engine which is easy to understand (options offered are "find pages with all the words", "with the exact phrase", "with any of the words" and "without the words" and it is possible to sign up for a weekly update by email. There is also a discussion forum.
As well as being a resource for practitioners, it will be widely used by students and less experienced lawyers, and possibly also members of the public, since it includes a practical guide to the Convention and the Act; what are "Incorporated Rights", "Procedures and Remedies" and so on.
In my opinion, this site is the most comprehensive legal resource on the web offered by any chambers at the present time and it is probably also the most comprehensive free legal resource which has appeared on the web over the last year. Most of the new arrivals, these days, are subscription services.
Head of Chambers Robert Seabrook QC says "Since almost every area of law has already been touched by the Human Rights Act, the site will be of value to a wide audience and we have tried to make it correspondingly accessible to all - and free. Although the provision of the site is partly a marketing venture, it is also making a philosophical statement about the law - that it should be accessible to all".
The site has been produced by web solutions company Enstar. It is attractive and also fast to use and is based on Enstar's own "content management" software - members of chambers can update the site according to their role in the project (and with appropriate passwords) and without the need for the developer's assistance. Enstar has also produced the Bar Council site and several other legal sites.
See also Human Rights Material on the Internet by Khawar Qureshi, March/April 2002
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