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Human Rights and Civil Liberties
Decisions made by public bodies can affect fundamental aspects of your life, including your home, your family, your health and your ability to live with dignity.
Where those decisions interfere with your basic rights or treat you unfairly, it is important to understand what can be done to challenge them.
At Watkins Solicitors, our Public Law and Human Rights team supports individuals, families and organisations across England in protecting their rights and holding public bodies to account.
We provide clear, practical advice to help you understand your position and take steps to challenge decisions that are unlawful, discriminatory or disproportionate.
To speak to our team, please call 0117 939 0350 or email info@watkinssolicitors.co.uk.
Public law and human rights expertise focused on decisions made by public bodies.
Experience in complex and time-sensitive cases affecting liberty, safety and support.
Clear advice on the most effective route to challenge unfair or unlawful decisions.
Guidance on whether Public Law Legal Aid funding may be available.
Public law, including judicial review, is one of the main legal routes used to protect human rights in the United Kingdom. It allows the courts to examine whether decisions made by public bodies are lawful, fair and compatible with fundamental rights.
Where a public body fails to take protected rights into account, or interferes with them without proper justification, the decision may be open to challenge.
Our role is to help you understand whether your rights may have been affected and what legal steps can be taken to protect them.
We act across a wide range of cases where human rights and civil liberties are central to the issue. These matters can be complex, time-sensitive and have a significant impact on individuals and families.
We advise where immigration decisions or detention may be unlawful or unfair.
These cases can require urgent action, particularly where a person’s liberty, accommodation or safety is at risk.
Access to safe and suitable housing is closely linked to dignity, health and family life.
We help individuals and families hold local authorities accountable and seek decisions that are made properly and fairly.
Public bodies, including the police, must exercise their powers lawfully and proportionately.
These cases often require careful analysis of both the law and the facts to determine whether a challenge is appropriate.
Public bodies must act fairly, avoid unlawful discrimination and consider how their decisions affect different groups.
These cases may involve one individual or wider issues affecting a group of people.
Human rights issues in health and social care can arise from a formal decision made by a public body, and also from the way a person is treated, cared for, supported, restricted or safeguarded.
We advise individuals, families and representatives where serious failures in health or social care may have affected a person’s dignity, safety, liberty, family life or wellbeing.
Human Rights Act claims in health and social care settings may involve:
These issues may arise in care homes, supported living arrangements, inpatient mental health units, autism treatment units, hospitals, community care services or where care is provided in a person’s own home.
We can help you understand whether human rights protections may apply, whether a decision or course of treatment can be challenged, and what legal route may be most appropriate.
Many human rights cases involve not only individual decisions, but wider concerns about how public bodies operate.
We work with charities, community organisations and advice agencies to address issues that go beyond a single case.
Strategic challenges may help improve decision-making and outcomes for wider groups affected by the same policy or repeated failure.
If your rights have been affected, or you believe a decision has been unfair or discriminatory, it can be difficult to know what to do next.
We take the time to understand what happened and how the decision has affected you.
We consider whether human rights, equality duties or other legal protections may apply.
We review whether the decision was lawful, fair, proportionate and properly reasoned.
We advise whether judicial review or another legal process is most appropriate.
We explain relevant time limits, urgent protective steps and whether Legal Aid may be available.
We help you move forward with clear, realistic advice and focused next steps.
Early advice can make a significant difference, particularly in urgent situations or where strict time limits apply.
Our team can assess what has happened, explain the protections that may apply and advise on the most effective next steps.
Our Public Law and Human Rights team supports individuals, families, professionals and organisations across England in challenging decisions made by public bodies.
We are widely recognised for specialist expertise and for acting in complex and often urgent cases where early action is critical.
Our approach is clear, practical and responsive, helping you understand your rights, options and next steps.
We guide clients from early advice and pre-action steps through to court proceedings where necessary.
Wherever possible, we focus on resolving issues efficiently and effectively, including opportunities to achieve a positive outcome without a full hearing.
We hold a Public Law Legal Aid contract and can advise whether funding may be available.
If a public body decision has affected your home, family, health, liberty, dignity or access to services, our team can help you understand whether your rights may have been breached and what can be done next.
We advise individuals, families, professionals and organisations across England.
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