To what extent is substantive equality promoted through the Human Essay

To what extent is substantive equality promoted through the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010 - Essay Example Second, the convention responded to the growth of Communism in Eastern Europe by protecting the member states from communist subversion. The constant reference to values and principles became norm within the Convention as it was deemed â€Å"necessary in a democratic society.† The Convention was drafted in 1950 by the Council of Europe, however, did not go into force until September 1953. This Convention established the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears cases from persons who feel their rights have been violated under the Convention by a state party. Any state party judgements are binding on the states concerned and they are obligated to execute them. Executions of judgements are overseen by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Particular discretion is used to ensure that payment amounts awarded by the Court to the applicants are received in compensation for damages sustained. The establishment of an international Court to protect individua ls from human rights violations is a very innovative feature. This innovative feature gives the individual a very active role on the international field. Tradition will show that only states or members are considered participants in international law. However, the European Convention remains the only international human rights agreement that provides this high degree of individual protection. Parties of the state can take cases against another state party to this Court, but this power is seldom used. Ten members originally joined as members in 1949. After the fall of the communist regimes in 1989, several states from Central and Eastern Europe became members. There are currently 33 members. Several other countries or States have been granted observer status including the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan. The ECHR consists of Eighteen Articles covering fundamental rights with respect to respecting rights, life, torture, servitude, liberty and security, fair trial, retrospect, privacy, conscience and religion, expression, association, marriage, effective remedy, discrimination, derogations, aliens, abuse of rights, and permitted restrictions. The Court also must abide by its five established protocols. The European Court of Human Rights historically has a distinguished track record. The Court judges thousands of cases every year and its opinions are internationally cited. Historically the Court’s jurisprudence on equality was based on a formal concept of equality. However, in recent years the ECHR has started to give equality more of a substantive content. Its â€Å"weak equality jurisprudence resulted from the limitations of ECHR, judicial procedure, and a formal concept of equality.† Article 14 of ECHR applies only specifically to the enjoyment of conventional rights. â€Å"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  As far as procedure, o nly alleged victims can apply for complaints (excluded from states), and they first have to exhaust all other domestic remedies in their perspective states. The Convention furthermore was reluctant to draw inferences of discrimination from statistics. However, the most limiting factor was the ECHR’s formal concept of discrimination, which focused on direct discrimination. Recently the court has had some difficulty with cases involving covert discrimination or