Socks to sex: the human rights line.

The past ten months have seen hundreds of calls to a government-sponsored human rights helpline.

Linda Tsang listens in on how the profession is coping with the Human Rights Act 1998

The scramble to be up to date about the Human Rights Act 1998 has thrown up some curious queries to the Human Rights and Public Law Line, including one about the issue of discrimination in a golf club's policy that refused to let men play in short socks but allowed women to do so.

The telephone helpline is funded by the Legal Services Commission, and was set up in January this year to provide expert guidance on human rights and public law issues for lawyers and other advisers.

It focuses on human rights and public law remedies, and is available free to everyone with a general civil contract with the Legal Services Commission - an estimated 6,000 law firms.

It is staffed by two lawyers from Liberty - the human rights group - and three lawyers from the Public Law Project (PLP).

As Mary Cunneen, associate director of Liberty, explains: 'The Human Rights Act 1998 is a new and complex area of law, requiring lawyers and advisers to think about their clients' cases in a whole new way.

Similarly, public law is a complex and rapidly changing field where identifying whether there are grounds for judicial review and advising on the appropriate remedy is not always straightforward.' She adds: 'Liberty has had an unrivalled record in pursuing human rights test cases through the European Court of Human Rights and has campaigned for many years for incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

'It is well placed to guide lawyers in this new era where the courts have new duties of interpretation and have to have regard to Strasbourg case law as well as the convention rights; there are new duties for public authorities - individuals will have new causes of action against public authorities and there are new powers for courts to make declarations of incompatibility.'

The ways in which the lawyers staffing the helpline have been able to offer practical help to solicitors include: acting as a sounding board to discuss cases; helping callers to explore the merits of a particular case; researching matters and carrying out 'follow up' work on more complex cases; and advising on strategies and practical steps.

To tie in with the advice line and to meet obvious demand, the organisations have also run a series of courses entitled 'human rights and public law - a practical approach' in London and Birmingham.

Ms Cunneen explains that, as well as the Human Rights Act coming into force on 2 October, there has also been the overhaul of the Crown Office and the new Administrative Court with new judicial review procedures in its place, which have all resulted in many more enquiries to the line.

In the past ten months, the volume of calls has gradually increased as practitioners have realised the need to explore any potential human rights aspects their cases may have.

Since the line was launched, Liberty has received more than 500 calls.

But aside from any problems with socks at a private members' club, the vast majority of calls to the helpline are more mundane, or less enlightened.

There was even one from a caller in January who assumed that the Act had been in force since 1998.

One of the Liberty lawyers, Mona Arshi, says: 'It has been apparent to both of us that there has been a marked increase in the level of understanding of the ECHR and the Human Rights Act 1998 in the profession as 2 October got nearer.

'Initially, callers were asking us for very general information and yet as incorporation loomed, advisers became more confident in applying the Act in practice - this was reflected in the ever-increasing complicated enquiries we received on the line.'

She previously worked for JR Jones, the London-based firm that acts for the family of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, and specialised in immigration cases, so her background is in the civil liberties field.

She says: 'The interesting thing is the sheer variety of the calls.

Often the types of enquiries are media-driven, such as those relating to disclosure of sex offender information and the issue of the privilege against self-incrimination after the Birmingham speeding case under s.172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

In that case, the accused successfully argued that an admission gained under the Act about who was driving the car should not have been used against him.

The case subsequently collapsed.

'Some have been entertaining, if not actually engaging any convention rights, such as: can a neighbour carry out intrusive CCTV surveillance?' She said more serious questions have included: do all court proceedings have to be heard in private? Do speeding notices comply with fair trial guarantees under Article 6? What can be done about a prisoner being force-fed? How can the right to respect for family life help a deportee? Is it lawful for a local authority to disclose private information to another third party? Can an employer lawfully intercept e-mails?'

The lawyers are able to assist by talking through a problem to identify any human rights issues and providing more detailed advice about applying the Act in a practical way.

They are also able to identify and provide copies of relevant Strasbourg case law, and can provide written advice if the nature of the problem requires a more detailed response.

Both Ms Arshi and her colleague at Liberty, Janet Arkinstall, describe their roles as being similar to that of a barrister.

Ms Arkinstall, who dealt with the golf club inquiry, adds that one of the most interesting queries related to whether there is any property in body parts, 'which is not strictly speaking a human rights issue, but is relevant in a domestic sphere with Alder Hey and the Bristol Royal Infirmary inquiries'.

She adds that there is also a need for a similar facility for criminal law inquiries.

And one lawyer who confirms the helpline's role as a specialist resource or counsel is solicitor Robin Makin, a partner at E Rex Makin & Co in Liverpool, who acts for about 130 families in the Alder Hey inquiry and also for Ralph Bulger, father of James Bulger.

He says: 'I can ring up Janet about the Strasbourg jurisprudence - it is a mutually beneficial arrangement, because they can get feedback on what is being done in terms of substantive human rights cases, and they are building up knowledge about the sorts of issues that people are arguing.'

Both Liberty and PLP have and are taking test cases as a result of enquiries taken on the helplines, but Karen Ashton, acting director of PLP, stresses that this is the exception rather than the rule.

She says that the public law line - which has received about 150 calls in the past six months - is not isolated from human rights issues, but the emphasis is on social welfare issues.

'One call led to a recent test case when the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) changed its policy on what is sufficient documentation for identification purposes, which has in impact on asylum seekers in relation to getting a driving licence - the DVLA is now revising its policy,' she says.

'But the line is not about running cases from calls -PLP has only run two such cases - we provide an ongoing supporting role in terms of advising on drafting and strategy in judicial reviews.'

Liberty is also taking a test case on behalf of a father challenging the provisions of the Child Support Act 1991 about deductions of income and how that can impact on Article 8, the right to family life.

Ms Arkinstall adds: 'The more lawyers know, the more they will be able to ascertain the chances of succeeding in running a particular argument.

It is a matter of balancing the rights under the Act and for example, maintaining law and order.

Our role is to point out that need to balance rights and fortunately lawyers are usually in a better position to take account of our advice.'

The Human Rights and Public Law Line is open Monday and Wednesday between 2pm and 5pm and on Tuesday and Thursday between 10am and 1pm, tel: 0808 808 4546.Linda Tsang is a freelance journalistOther courses will be held in Leeds on November 24 and in London next year on January 18.

Contact Zoe Gillard on 020 7378 3667 for more details.