stagger, you're quite right - but think about it for a moment. Is it actually a BAD thing? Only a few of the rights in the Human Rights Act are absolute (eg. your right to freedom from torture) - the rest are qualified rights.
To give you an example of why this should be so, let's take freedom of speech. Say I make a number of racist remarks in a public place, designed to, say, start a race riot. On the one hand, I can say I am merely exercising my right to free speech. If my right to free speech is absolute, no-one can stop me. As it's qualified, I can be stopped - by, for instance, a charge of inciting racial hatred.
I would say that's not a bad thing.