Public authorities
This page looks at who are "public authorities" for the purposes of the Human Rights Act. An action for breach of the Convention as such can only be brought against a "public authority", though the Convention can still be relevant in other claims.
There are now various decided cases on what counts as a "public authority". The following are only some broad guidelines:
- "Public authority" includes bodies which are are "obviously" public authorities, such as central and local government and the police.
- It includes courts, and also tribunals exercising functions in relation to legal proceedings (s.6(3)(a)(b) HRA).
- "Public authority" also includes a person certain of whose functions are of a public nature, unless the nature of the particular act in question is private (s.6(3)(c), (5) HRA). Particularly here, the rules need to be developed by the courts. However, it was suggested in the course of debate in Parliament in 1997 that:
- Railtrack (as was) would qualify as a public authority when carrying out its functions relating to safety, for example, but not when carrying out functions as, say, a property developer by engaging in a private transaction such as the disposal or acquisition of land;
- a private security company would be a public authority in relation to the management of a contracted-out prison;
- a doctor in general practice would be a public authority in relation to NHS functions but not private patients;
- the BBC would be a public authority, Channel 4 might well be, but the independent television companies might well not be;
- various churches and also charities (eg for homelessness, or the NSPCC) may count as public authorities, at least as regards some functions.
- Similarly, according to the White Paper, "public authorities" include "to the extent that they are exercising public functions, companies responsible for areas of activity which were previously within the public sector, such as the privatised utilities" (para 2.2).
- It seems that state schools will be "public authorities". Independent schools (Costello-Roberts case) and further and higher education institutions may also be, at least as regards some of their functions.
- Most employment matters are likely to be private acts, and therefore outside any public authority status of bodies which are such only by virtue of some of their functions having a public nature (under s.6(3)(c) HRA). However, an "obvious" public authority, such as central and local governement or the police, is treated as a public authority even in relation to employment matters or other "private" acts.
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Last updated 26th October, 2003
