§ Lord Coleraineasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is their intention that the words "public authority" in Clause 6 of the Human Rights Bill are to have the same meaning, according to the law of the United Kingdom, as those words have in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)A direct comparison between the approach of the convention institutions in determining what is a public authority in Clause 6 of the Human Rights Bill is not appropriate, because the convention institutions will consider whether an alleged violation engages the responsibility of the United Kingdom itself, as a state party to the convention, rather than any particular public authority. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Bill is designed to enable a person to invoke the convention rights in the United Kingdom against any public authority in respect of whose actions the United Kingdom is answerable before the convention institutions.