Liberty Intact: Human Rights in English Law

What are the connections between conceptions of rights found in English law and those found in bills of rights around the World? How has English Common Law influenced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948 and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) 1950? These questions and more are answered in Michael Tugendhat's historical account of human rights from the eighteenth century to present day. Focusing specifically on the first modern declarations of the rights of mankind- the 'Virginian Declaration of Rights', 1776, the French 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen', 1789, and the 'United States Bill of Rights', 1791- the book recognises that the human rights documented in these declarations of the eighteenth century were already enshrined in English common law, many originating from English law and politics of the fifteenth century. The influence of English Common Law , taken largely from Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, can also be realised in the British revolutions of 1642 and 1688; the American and French Revolutions of 1776 and 1789 respectively; and through them, on the UDHR and ECHR. Moreover, Tugendhat argues that British law, in all but a few instances, either meets or exceeds human rights standards, and thus demonstrates that human rights law is British law and not a recent invention imported from abroad. Structured in three sections, this volume (I) provides a brief history of human rights; (II) examines the rights found in the American and French declarations and demonstrates their ancestry with English law; and (III) discusses the functions of rights and how they have been, and are, put to use.

Table of Contents:
1: Introduction 2: Historical Overview 3: Liberty and Equality 4: Rule of Law 5: Access to Justice 6: Right of Resistance 7: Life, Security, Detention, and Torture 8: Property, Taxation, Work, and Slavery 9: Freedom of Expression 10: PRivate and Family Life 11: Conscience, Religion, Association, Assembly, Petition, and Duties 12: Sovereignty and Revolution 13: Function of Rights 14: Limits to Legislation 15: The Future of British Rights Appendix I: Natural Rights, Human Dignity, Duties, and Deserts Appendix II: The Virginian and French Declarations of Rights

About the Author :
Sir Michael Tugendhat was a Judge of the High Court of England and Wales from 2003 to June 2014. He was a scholar at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge where he graduated in Classics and Philosophy. In 1967-8 he held a Henry Fellowship at Yale University. He practised at the English Bar from 1970 to 2003 specialising in media and commercial law. He was a judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey, and was the Judge in Charge of the High Court's Queen's Bench Division civil lists. As a barrister and a judge he was involved in many of the cases in which the law of freedom of expression and privacy were developed in the light of human rights.

Review :
During a turbulent time for constitutional law in general, and human rights law in particular, it is refreshing to read a book which radiates with optimism. Works by former judges are often fascinating insights into the judicial mind. This book, by former High Court judge Michael Tugendhat, is therefore to be doubly welcomed. ... Tugendhat has taken care to make the book accessible - an admirable feat for such complex subject matter. He has explained difficult concepts in clear language and presented his thoughts in short, snappy chapters. This is an invaluable book in seeking to defend human rights by exploring their English law origins. A great deal of historical material is assembled for the task. The case is convincingly and cogently made. ... if Sir Michael Tugendhat's book attracts the attention it deserves the landscape of rights litigation and discourse might well change, and take on a more British complexion. In this thoughtful book [Michael Tugendhat] considers the influence of English common law on a number of human rights instruments, both before and after the current efflorescence of bills of rights, and argues that the standards laid down in common law were just as robust as, if not more so than, those contained in documents such as the European Convention on Human Rights. I have read [Liberty Intact] with much pleasure... I found [it] very stimulating and thought provoking. Liberty Intact is a timely reminder of the capacity of the common law to provide robust, influential and context appropriate protection of fundamental rights in the United Kingdom, and its ability to do so in a self-sufficient and coherent manner... Certainly, everyone, whether lawyer or non-lawyer, should read it. This excellent book by Sir Michael Tugendhat... sets out to persuade readers to justify reliance on human rights priciples primarily by reference to English common law and statute law, rather than reaching immediately for the articles of the ECHR. The critical issue going forward, if certain sources of rights such as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights were abrogated, would be to be in a position to argue cases based on English law along. This book would facilitate such arguments while at the same time allaying public concern about such rights or principles being imposed from the outside. It is to be warmly welcomed. [Tugendhat's] arguments are expertly executed. With meticulous detail, [he] shows the reader how each of the Convention rights has its origins in British law... it is a powerful book.