This book challenges several traditional assumptions concerning human rights. In particular it challenges the presumption that the fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention on Human Rights are irrelevant for cases which concern the sphere of relations between individuals. It asks whether victims should be protected from non-state actors, and attempts to develop a coherent approach to 'human rights in the private sphere'.

This study concentrates on the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights, and their enforcement in the courts of the United Kingdom and at the European level: at the European Commission and Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. In addition, some constitutional cases are examined from the United States and Canadian legal orders. The application of international human rights law to the private sphere has implications for the worlds of labour relations, race relations, discrimination, and violence against women and for victims of indignities everywhere.

This study shows that respect for privacy need not mean excluding wrongs in the private sphere from the world of human rights.