The SHRC has the power to start legal proceedings in its own name where we consider that a public authority has unlawfully failed to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (“UNCRC”). The UNCRC has been incorporated into the Scottish domestic legal system by the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (“UNCRC Act”). The UNCRC Act makes the rights of children part of the domestic law of Scotland and therefore directly enforceable in the Scottish courts. You can find out more information about the UNCRC Act here.

Section 6 of the UNCRC Act makes it unlawful for public authorities to act incompatibly with the UNCRC in the exercise of a relevant function. This is known as the "compatibility duty”. The SHRC may start legal proceedings against a public authority which we consider has breached, or proposes to breach, its compatibility duty. Currently the Commission only has this power in relation to the rights contained in the UNCRC Act.

The SHRC also has the power to intervene in legal proceedings. Interventions are a way of raising particular points of law or fact which do not feature in the arguments advanced by the parties to the proceedings, but which would assist the court in its determination of the law. The SHRC has a specific intervention power under the UNCRC Act, as well as a wider intervention power in respect of other human rights.

We can also carry out an inquiry into the policies or practices of Scottish public authorities. Although we cannot conduct an inquiry into a particular situation or individual case, the policies or practices of a specific public authority case may be taken into account during the course of an inquiry. For the purposes of an inquiry, the Commission has the power to require the production of evidence, or enter a place of detention to inspect conditions or interview persons detained there. The Commission may not question the findings of any court or tribunal through an inquiry.

If you want to notify us about legal proceedings which raise a compatibility question or compatibility issue under the UNCRC Act or notify us of an issue where the SHRC may wish to consider using its other legal powers please email legal@scottishhumanrights.com.

Please note that that the law governing the SHRC’s work prohibits us from providing advice or assistance on individual legal claims unless of the SHRC’s powers under the UNCRC Act. Section 6 of the Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006 explains this.