A general guide to the Human Rights Act, with information about your human rights and what you can do if someone doesn’t respect them.
View this information as a PDF (new window)
This is a qualified right that protects your right to property. Property includes:
If you have a mental health problem, the right to property may be relevant to you in the following situations:
This is a non-absolute right which protects the right to education and makes sure that students have access to education and teaching.
This includes:
The right to education is particularly important when it comes to children and young people with mental health problems. No child or young person below the school leaving age should be denied access to education just because they are receiving medical treatment for a mental health problem.
Alex is a 14-year-old girl who has several mental health problems, and she has been excluded from school because of behavioural issues. The local authority has accepted that they need to find her a suitable place to be educated, but have failed to put in place any arrangements for her education for a number of weeks.
This could be a breach of her right to education.
This right can be restricted by law, for example, the minimum age to vote is 18 and people serving a prison sentence are not able to vote.
If you have mental health problems or are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, you do have the right to vote.
Joseph is detained under section 3. He has been told that he is not allowed to vote in the next elections. This could be a breach of his right to vote.
A qualified right can only be restricted when certain general conditions are met. This means your individual rights need to be balanced with the interests of the wider community.
An example of this would be the government restricting your right to freedom of expression (Article 10) if you are encouraging racial hatred.
See our full list of legal terms.This is a law that applies to England and Wales which allows people to be detained in hospital (sectioned) if they have a mental health disorder and need treatment. You can only be kept in hospital if certain conditions are met.
See our pages on the Mental Health Act for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.This information was published in January 2020. We will revise it in 2022.
References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.