Human Rights and Property Law

Other chapters in this book have briefly mentioned human rights — in relation to the mortgagee’s right to possession, the doctrine of overreaching, and the landlord’s right to possession of the occupied property. This chapter faces the issue head on. The great debate which raged during the Noughties, and partly resolved as that decade ended, was the extent to which property rights and human rights intersect and interact. Although this chapter could range widely, its focus is on two elements: mandatory rights to possession (Debate 1); and peaceful enjoyment of possessions (Debate 2). The former concerns Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (given effect in Schedule 1, Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA)); the latter concerns Article 1, First Protocol, ECHR (1998 Act, sch. 1 (A1P1)).