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<p>Under international law, the United Kingdom has undertaken to comply with the European
Convention on Human Rights. The Human Rights Act 1998 gives further effect in domestic
law to certain rights and freedoms drawn from the Convention, called the Convention
rights. Section 6(1) of the Act makes it unlawful for a public authority to act in
a way which is incompatible with a Convention right. Under section 6(3), “public authority”
is defined as including a court or tribunal, and “any person certain of whose function
are functions of a public nature”; but does not include either House of Parliament
or a person exercising functions in connection with proceedings in Parliament. Section
73(2) of the Care Act 2011 additionally specifies that a provider of regulated care
and support that has been arranged or paid for by a local authority or Health and
Social Care trust is also to be taken as exercising a function of a public nature
for the purposes of the Human Rights Act. Any allegation that a public authority has
acted incompatibly with a Convention right may be brought to court as specified in
section 7 of the Act.</p><p> </p><p>Guidelines produced by the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe are not legally binding.</p>
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