rights in context 1.4

Definition of civil liberties

- range of rights and freedoms granted by being a citizen of a certain country
- freedom of speech, press, religion, association
- government should not interfere in these areas

Definition of Human Rights

- rights that belong to all people in all societies
- inalienable (cannot be taken away under any circumstances and are absolute)

What determines the rights of British citizens and why?

Common law cases create a legal precedent to be followed in future disputes
- Because constitution is uncodified

When was the Magna Carta signed?

1215

What did the Magna Carta establish?

Rule of law
- set legal precedent for fair trial

when was bill of rights?

dec 1689

what is in bill of rights 1689

• Parliament has more power than the monarch.

• People can speak freely in Parliament without fear.

• People can ask the king or queen for things without being punished.

• No unfair punishments or bail.

• No fines or punishments without a trial.

• People can have weapons to protect themselves.

• Elections should be fair and happen regularly.

• Trials should be quick and fair.

• The king or queen can't keep an army without Parliament's permission.

• The king or queen can't be Catholic.

When was the HRA passed?

1998

What did HRA do?

- Sets out fundamental rights and freedoms all are entitled to

• Right to life, Prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Prohibition of slavery and forced labour, Right to liberty and security, Right to a fair trial, No punishment without law, Right to respect for private and family life, Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, Freedom of expression, Freedom of assembly and association, Right to marry and found a family, Prohibition of discrimination in the enjoyment of Convention rights, Right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions, Right to education, Right to free elections

What is a limitation to the HRA?

- Parliamentary sovereignty means rights are not secured and can be easily repealed

When was the Freedom of Information Act and when was it used?

2000
- 2009 expenses scandal was exposed because journalists were able to demand access to this information under this act

What does Freedom of Information Act do?

- Public access on info held by public authorities
- Public authorities held accountable so citizens' rights are protected

When was the Equality Act introduced?

2010

why was Equality Act introduced and what does it do?

• make law easier to understand, strengthen protection, guidelines so people know how to act if they have been discriminated against, to require public bodies to pay attention to discrimination

• Legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society

• Tied together 116 pieces of legislation on discrimination

  • 9 characteristics that are protected from discrimination under the Act: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation 
    

A famous common law case:

Entick v Carrington - 1765
- The king's chief messengers had created £2000 worth of damage when broke into Entick's home and accused him of writing a treasonous pamphlet
- Entick sued for trespassing on his property
- Legal precedent set: agencies of a state are not above the law just because they enforce it

The case of R vs R (1991)The case of R vs R in 1991 changed the landscape completely, with marital rape finally made a legal reality. In the case, a man (identified only as "R") was convicted of attempting to rape his wife, having challenged the decision citing the marital rape exemption.

Civic responsibilities:

- Jury service
- Paying tax
- Obeying the law

Which acts restrict civil liberties?

- 2001 anti-terrorism crime and security act
- 2005 serious organised crime and police act
- 2006 terrorism act
- 2016 investigatory powers act

What did the 2001 Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act do?

Meant that foreign terrorist suspects can be imprisoned indefinitely without trial

What is judicial review?

- The Supreme Court's authority to review the lawfulness of a decision made by a public body
- in UK - used to decide whether ministers are acting beyond their power

What makes judicial review harder in the UK than US?

- Uncodified constitution means difficult for judges to check whether governmental actions are constitutional

• not all written down in one place

Example of Judicial Review

• Belmarsh case 2001-2006: British government passed legislation saying they can detain anyone without trial on terrorism charges, 9 men appealed against their detention, the judges ruled in their favour to mean they can't be held indefinitely without trial
  - went against ECHR

• control orders imposed
  

• Liberty took government to court on investigatory powers act in 2017 as believed it to be a 'snooper's charter' - provisions were changed

what is ‘snooper’s charter’?

• colloquial term used to refer to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016

• Purpose: Modernise and consolidate UK surveillance laws

• Retention: Service providers required to retain communications data

• Bulk Equipment Interference: Permits hacking into devices and networks for intelligence gathering

• Judicial Oversight: Introduces a "double-lock" system for authorising surveillance warrants

• Controversy: Criticised for excessive surveillance powers, undermining privacy rights, and lacking sufficient safeguards

for snoopers charter (Investigatory Powers Act 2016)

• National security – enables law enforcement and intelligence agencies to monitor and intersect communications - prevents terrorist threat

• As in the case of the 1998 Act, it updates and consolidates existing legislation to account for the fact that crime exists in a digital age

• Legal clarity – is not new and radical information – surveillance has always been used - clearer legal networks for surveillance

  • Investigatory Powers Commissioners Office - role is to oversee the use of surveillance powers and ensure compliance with the law

against snoopers charter (Investigatory Powers Act 2016)

• article 8 Privacy concerns

• Massively over-intrusive

• Introduces possibility of mass surveillance

• Lack judicial oversight

• article 10 Freedom of expression – compresses – knowledge of surveillance - people will self-censor

• Data security and hacking – equipment interference - abuse of personal data

how did consensus around rights in UK change during 20th Century?

• 1948: UK helps draft Declaration of Human Rights

• 1950: UK helps draft European Convention on Human Rights

• 1960s onwards: Concerns rise about potential abuse of power by public bodies, especially against minorities and marginalized groups

  • Influenced by US civil rights movement; Rejection of traditional authority; Shift in social attitudes and relationships; Questioning of traditional government structures

• 1970s: European Court of Human Rights highlights gaps in UK civil liberties laws

• 1997: Labour Party pledges statutory rights for UK citizens to enforce human rights in UK courts

• Collapse of USSR empowers US, giving Britain a sense of power

• Liberalism thrives; Britain competes with the EU.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

• Purpose: Foster open government by ensuring decisions affecting people's lives and taxpayer money are open to scrutiny.

• Goals: Increase transparency, accountability, and prevent abuse of power.

• Focus: Emphasize the right to information for citizens to make informed decisions in civic processes.

• Mandatory Publication: Public authorities must publish specific information about their activities.

• Public Requests: Citizens can request additional information from the government if it serves the public interest.

• Trust Building: Aims to build trust in the government by facilitating access to information.

Positives of judicial review:

- Protects human rights
- Democracy being upheld even without a codified constitution

Negatives of judicial review:

- Unelected judges are effectively making policy by accepting or rejecting decisions (undemocratic)
- Taxpayers' money goes towards the reviews, even though they rarely come from public seeking a reviewer

Which government introduced HRA 1998?

Blair's New Labour government

What does HRA do in terms of ECHR?

- Incorporates ECHR (international human rights treaty between 47 states) into British law
- The rights guaranteed by ECHR are enforced in UK courts

Johnson's opinions on HRA

- Intended to replace it with a "British Bill of Rights"
- Tories argue that Act privileges 'undeserving' individuals (e.g., criminals seeking to avoid deportation)
- Believe ECHR threatens British government's sovereignty

What is Liberty?

- Human rights pressure group
- 'Promote values of equality, dignity, fairness and accountability in all that we do'
- Have insider influence but they are outsider

Examples of Liberty campaigns:

- 2008 - campaigned for the government to drop the proposal to extend detention without charge for those who are suspected of terrorism, to 42 days - they dropped it

- Investigatory Power Act 2016 - claimed that it breaches the right to privacy (Article 8) for citizens, as it allows the storing of private data - gov made amendments - introducing the requirement of an independent review stage before agencies retain certain data

- Used protections in HRA to support Christine Goodwin's fight for transgender rights

Argument that civil liberties should not be touched:

- Should not be weakened or ignored under any circumstance
- Fundamental to society
- Basis of democracy
- Protect people from government
- Focus should be on individual rights

Argument that civil liberties should be touched:

- Rights are relative
- Rights of an individual must be set against the rights of others
- Liberties go alongside responsibilities and duties (paying tax, voting etc.)
- Some are more important than others
- Up to elected Parliament to decide on rights issues

Examples of conflict between individual and collective rights:

INDIVIDUAL VS COLLECTIVE RIGHTS

Abu Qatada (faced trial in Jordan) entered UK illegally in 1993, assylum seeking- not deported until 2014 when Jordan pledged no torture would be used to require evidence, as this would have breached Article 3 and 6 of the HRA

.

1. 2010 - Supreme Court declared that homosexuality was a ground for claiming asylum in the UK if they could be persecuted for it in their country

difference between responsibilities and rights

• Responsibilities – obligations or duties towards others or the larger society

  • Includes paying tax, jury duty, abiding by the law, and voting

• Rights - having an entitlement to act or be treated in a particular way, entails an obligation to respect the entitlement of others to do the same

Argument that civil liberties are protected in the UK:

• Parliament has been seen to protect civil liberties

• 2005 - Blair's government tried to increase the time a terrorist suspect could be imprisoned to 90 days, but was defeated with 49 MPs voting against

• terrorism act 2006 - 14/28 days retention

• 2008 - Brown's government attempted to increase number of days' detention to 42, but was defeated by the Lords (Liberty helped)

• 2010 coalition committed itself to repealing identity cards as deemed this an infringement on civil liberties

What do public and politicians think about collective vs individual rights?

- Politicians argue that some restrictions are necessary to protect the collective, rather than the individual
- Little public outcry as a result of identity cards indicates that people accept that collective good requires limitations to individual rights

rights have come into conflict with the priorities of government in four main areas:

1. sentencing laws

   ECHR ruling in Vinter and Others v the United Kingdom (2013) regarding convicted murderers - Ruling - life sentence must allow possibility of release + review to comply w/ Article 3; Former Justice Sec Chris Grayling proposed new British Bill of Rights to replace HR for UK Courts and Parliament to have final say in such matters.

2. treatment of prisoners

   (murderer) Hirst v UK (2005) - ECHR ruled that a blanket ban on prisoners voting violated Article 3 in a case that David Cameron described as making him feel physically ill

3. terrorism

   belmarsh case

4. right to privacy life vs need to protect others

   S and Marper v United Kingdom (2008); ECtHR ruled against blanket retention of DNA profiles from innocent individuals; Violation of Article 8 of ECHR - right to private life; Home Secretary's Response -Jacqui Smith (Labour) - disappointment, - DNA retention crucial for crime fighting

Example of ECHR having superiority over Blair’s Anti-Terrorism Act 2001:

2004 - Belmarsh case
- 9 men challenged the decision which was detaining them, due to Anti-Terrorism Act 2001
- Had not had a trial
- Was legal under Blair's act, but went up to the Lords, but ECHR did not allow for this so made declaration of incompatibility

can rights be restricted?

• UK parliament - power to ‘derogate’ from certain articles in the ECHR when passing law during a state of emergency or time of war

• Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001-derogated from A5, (right to liberty)

  • Clear example of the common good overriding rights of the individual, but raises the question as to whether rights really are universal, fundamental, and absolute

• e.g., 2: COVID set aside certain freedoms and civil liberties in the interest of public health and safety e.g., A11 - freedom of assembly - prohibited protests, gatherings

4 exceptions to rule of being able to derogate from articles in ECHR

·       Articles :

• 2- right to life

• 3 - Prohibition of torture

• 4 – Prohibition of forced labour and slavery

• 7 - No punishment without law

  • These rights were considered absolute

  • All other rights in the HRA can be compromised in terms of crisis, provided the action is proportionate and lawful, to protect the wider public

An example of Amnesty International protecting human rights:

- Global pressure groups
- Expose human rights abuses
- Since 2023 - actively campaigning for the protection of the HRA and against the British Bill of Rights, and against anti-immigration laws
- 1984 - helped set up a global convention against torture

clash of rights example:

Ashers vs Lee (2018)

• Supreme court decided that Belfast bakery run by evangelical Christians did not have to make a cake with the message ‘support gay marriage’ on it

• The court ruled the bakery did not refuse to make the cake because of Lee’s sexual orientation – no discrimination

• Under article 10 the court ruled that freedom of expression included the right to not express an opinion that one does not hold

• Welcomed by some, whilst gay right groups such as Stonewall and Rainbow Project, as well as the equality commission for NI, saw it as a backwards step for equality

2nd clash of rights (HMCI vs The Interim Executive Board of Al-Hijrah School (2017)

• HMCI vs The Interim Executive Board of Al-Hijrah School (2017)

• Case concerned Al-Hijrah School in Birmingham, which is a voluntary-aided faith co-educational school

• School segregated boys and girls from year 5 onward

  • Had separate classrooms

  • Separate corridors

  • Separate clubs

  • Separate school trips

• Court of Appeal ruled the segregation broke the individual rights of both boys and girls under Equalities Act, as both were denied the opportunity to mix socially and interact with pupils of the opposite sex

look at table in notes and also use examples from this Quizlet to answer questions

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