What does the Human Rights Act do?
The Human Rights Act makes it unlawful for a public authority (such as a local authority or a court) to act, or fail to act, in a way that is incompatible with a Convention right – all public authorities must look through a lens of human rights when they are interpreting the law. If you feel that one or more of your rights have been breached by a public authority, you can raise the matter in a court. If you are unhappy with the decision and have pursued the issue as far as it can go in the UK, you can take your complaint to the European Court of Human Rights.
