by Teresa Sanader

"A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions." This quote by James Madison, one of the US Founding Fathers, in the Federalist Paper No. 51 highlights the importance of separation of powers within a state, but it can as well be understood as pointing towards the necessity of a Bill of Rights, one significant "auxiliary precaution" in the constitutional framework having the main purpose of protecting the individual against the tyranny of the majority.

In the following essay I will argue that the UK Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 is not only such an auxiliary precaution tool against a potentially oppressive government, but also fulfils all other constitutive elements of a Bill of Rights.

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