Tag: European Convention on Human Rights
In the name of parliamentary sovereignty: how the conflict between the UK government and the courts over prisoner voting rights was really about executive power
In UK political disputes over European Court of Human Rights judgments, such as the high-profile objections to rulings on prisoner voting, much political capital is made out of the claim that the European Court is impinging on UK parliamentary sovereignty. However, Helen Hardman argues that the objections have instead been based on concern that court rulings would limit the decision-making powers of the government, rather than the independence and sovereignty of parliament. Archival and interview data demonstrate that the strategic purpose of the stand-off against the European Court was directed at weakening the European Convention system because it empowers UK domestic courts to effectively challenge government policy.
How well does the UK’s democracy protect human rights and civil liberties?
A foundational principle of liberal democracy is that all citizens are equal, and so the protection of fundamental human rights is of critical importance for democratic effectiveness. In many countries a statement of citizens’ rights forms part of the constitution, and is especially enshrined in law and enforced by the courts. This has not happened in the UK, which has no codified constitution. Instead, in an article from The UK’s Changing Democracy: the 2018 Democratic Audit, Colm O’Cinneide evaluates the more diffuse and eclectic ways in which the UK’s political system protects fundamental human rights through the Human Rights Act and other legislation, and the courts and Parliament.
The use of EU Citizens as bargaining chips may be in violation of European human rights law
Leaving the EU will not exempt the UK from its responsibilities under the European Convention on Human Rights. Virginia Mantouvalou illustrates how the refusal of Theresa May and others to guarantee the rights of EU citizens following the vote in favour of Brexit could be in violation of European law, and writes that although the new Prime […]
The UK is inconsistent in its support for human rights and democracy overseas
In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone discussed the role of the UK in promoting democracy and human rights overseas. They found the UK purports to set itself high standards in this area, and has made progress recently by agreeing new international human rights instruments. Our relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights suggest […]
The European Court of Human Rights’ decision in MH v UK highlights the shortcomings in Britain’s mental health law
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in MH v UK that the inability of a woman with Down’s Syndrome to challenge her detention in a hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 violated her human rights. Claire Overman argues that this judgment throws a spotlight on the issue of the protection available to […]
Denying prisoners the vote creates a barrier to their reintegration into society
Parliament is currently considering how to relax the UK’s restrictions on prisoner voting, which have been deemed in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. In this post Nicola Lacey argues that our ongoing failure to extend voting rights to prisoners creates a powerful symbol of their exclusion from full membership of society. Similar […]
European Court of Human Rights statement on ‘seriously misleading’ UK news articles
The European Court of Human Rights has long been a target of criticism from parts of the British press. In response to recent coverage of figures on payments made by the British government following Court decisions, the Registrar of the Court has issued a statement highlighting the misleading claims in certain articles, particularly in the […]
Replacement of the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights without strong safeguards risks being wholly inadequate
The ongoing debate on the future of the Human Rights Act isn’t going away, with some figures in the Conservative Party particularly agitating for its replacement with a ‘home grown’ Bill of Rights. Amy Williams of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics argues that a Bill of […]
The UKs muddled approach to prisoner voting rights looks set to continue
The UK’s continued delay in responding to the issue of prisoner voting has spawned a hydra-headed legal debacle. Whereas countries like Ireland quickly passed legislation to enfranchise prisoners following a 2005 European Court decision, the then Labour Government vacillated, seemingly hoping that if delayed for long enough the problem would go away. It didn’t go away, but […]
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