EM1351 - Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA): How does the Human Rights Act 1998 affect HMRC

On 2nd October 2000 the Human Rights Act came into force. From that date the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) were incorporated into UK law.

A citizen’s rights under ECHR can now be enforced directly in the UK courts. The provisions of ECHR apply to companies as well as individuals.

This section gives general guidance on

• Article 8 (rights of privacy), see EM1355
• Article 6 (rights to a fair trial), see EM1360.

There is also related guidance about

• Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) at EM1806
• Human Intelligence Sources at EM1886.

The legal position is evolving, and following the decision in the tax case King v UK, see EM1361, HMRC has accepted that a limited number of our penalties could be deemed as ‘criminal’ for the purposes of Article 6 ECHR.

For guidance on

• what this means and which penalties are affected, see EM1360
• what to tell the taxpayer, see EM1362.