The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is rapidly acquiring great influence in international law, as academics and practitioners recognize the profound scope and reach of the Covenant's provisions for the promotion and protection of individual freedom, and human rights. In this highly original collection of essays by a group of leading British scholars, the impact of the Covenant on United Kingdom law is assessed, and the relative effectiveness of the Covenant as opposed to other regionally-based human rights agreements is discussed and analysed. This is the first major scholarly assessment of the Covenant's provisions, and as such it will be of great interest not only to domestic lawyers and scholars, but to international lawyers who will recognize the importance of the examination of British State Practice with regard to the law.