Professor Mark Elliott, professor of public law at the University of Cambridge, said it was now ‘open season’ on the ECHR.

‘Seriously increases’ the chances of leaving

Meanwhile, Sir Paul Jenkins QC, a barrister at Matrix Chambers and former head of the Government Legal Department, told the Law Society Gazette that the vote to leave ‘seriously increases’ the chances of the UK opting to leave the ECHR. 

A means to ‘take back control’

Professor Neil Parpworth, a law professor specialising in human rights at De Montfort University said that the UK’s commitment to the ECHR depends on who becomes the next prime minister. He noted that Home Secretary Theresa May, among the favourites to succeed David Cameron, has come out against the convention. She recently said the ECHR can bind the hand of parliament while adding nothing to the UK's prosperity.

He added that leaving the convention could be portrayed by the next leader as a further means by which the UK is able to ‘take back control’.