The number of cases brought in UK courts under the terms of the Human Rights Act has dropped by almost a fifth in the last year, according to new figures released today (16 February).

A report published by Sweet & Maxwell Online shows that cases brought under the terms of the Act, which became law in 1998, dropped by 18% over the last 12 months from 497 in 2004-05 to 394 for the most recent 12-month period.

The figures continue a three-year decline in cases citing the Act since a high of 541 instances in 2002-03.

However, despite a fall in the number of cases brought using the Act, experts suggests that the Act is being applied to a broader range of cases, in areas such as property and employment law.

Bindman & Partners public law and human rights head Stephen Grosz commented: "We saw a huge surge in the number of cases implementing human rights arguments when this legislation was first introduced but there has been a gradual downturn over the past three years as the Act has been established by test cases."

He added: "Everyone is now aware of the legislation and organisations have become more careful about complying with human rights obligations – it certainly hasn't opened the floodgates to litigation as some doom-mongers warned."