On 14 December 2021, the UK government launched a consultation on proposals to reform the Human Rights Act 1998 entitled the “Human Rights Act Reform: A Modern Bill of Rights”. The Consultation recently closed for most recipients, and its outcome could reshape existing constitutional norms and protections, as well as opening a path to the light-touch regulatory economy reportedly envisaged as part of the UK’s post-Brexit future.

Corporates interested in the degree of regulatory oversight likely to operate in the UK post Brexit will be watching the ongoing review of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) with interest. It may signal a dilution of the protections to individual rights contained in the HRA, including the commitments to observe rights in legislation and operation of public functions, as well as the ability to challenge failures to do so via the courts.