Examining 10 reasons to stay in the European Convention on Human Rights: informing public debate in the UK

Report

The report sets out ten key reasons to stay in the ECHR – spanning accountability after state failures, protections for free expression and privacy, proportionate policing, and practical safeguards across public services – with evidence drawn from UK law, public authority practice, human rights case law, international treaty obligations, and academic and expert analysis. It concludes that the way in which the UK incorporated ECHR rights through the HRA safeguards everyone's rights every day, including actively protecting people when they are at their most vulnerable, protecting people's privacy against intrusion, holding those in power accountable, and increasing the UK's international influence and credibility. The authors note that this conclusion does not suggest there should be no debate about the ECHR, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, or the application of the HRA within the UK. This debate must, however, be well-informed and evidence-based.

Authors: Adelmant, V; Çalı, B; Donald, A; Grogan, J; Leach, P

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: Bonavaro Institute of Human Rights
• Series: Bonavero Reports
• Series number: 5/2025
• Place of publication: Oxford, UK
• Publication date: 2025-12-10
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-9ekxkrzzz
• Language: English
• Keywords: international law; European Court of Human Rights; UK Constitution; human rights; ECHR; European Convention on Human Rights