rights in the uk

What are rights

• legally protected freedoms

• They’re absolute, universal and fundamental.

• In uk they’re unwritten but are now guaranteed by the 1998 Human Rights Act.

Examples of rights in uk

• freedom of expression

• Freedom of conscience

• Freedom of movement

• Belong to an association like a trade union

Rights prior to the HRA 1998

• no single document that set out rights instead there were negative rights which were things people could do providing the law didn’t explicitly prohibit them. For example, people have the right to freedom of expression as long as it complied with the laws against defamation and blasphemy.

How does the UK have a rights based culture

All new legislation must be compliant with the act (1998 HRA) and judges can declare earlier act of parliament compatible with it

How are rights protected in UK

• parliamentary legislation

• Pressure groups

• The House of Lords

• Common law (eg. Presumption of innocence)

Magna Carta 1215

oldest statement of rights in the UK. Its original purpose was to limit royal power. Foundation of the rights of the citizen and is regarded as establishing the right to trial by jury.

The bill of rights (1689)

Parliament further restricted the power of the monarch and increased its power

The European convention on human rights 1950

Guaranteed basic freedoms, prevents future atrocities, uphold democracy

The right to life, the right to a fair trial freedom of expression, religion, and assembly

Human Rights Act 1998

Enshrined the European convention on human rights into UK law

The right to life, right to a fair trial, right to privacy and a family life, prohibition of torture

Human rights act 1998

Passed by new labour

Enshrined the ECHR into UK law, meaning that rights could be defended in UK courts rather than having to go to Strasbourg.

Right to life, right to fair trial, right to privacy and a family life, prohibition of torture.

Arguments for HRA

Claimed that UK has developed a rights based culture as new legislation must be compliant with the act.

Joint Committee on Human Rights to scrutinise bills and ensure they’re compatible with HRA. Eg. In A vs Secretary od State for the Home Department, part of the anti-terrorism, crime and security act was declared incompatible with articles 5 and 14 of the HRA. The Prevention f Terroism act 2005 was amended by parliament as a result.

Places public authorities in the uk under an obligation to treat everyone with fairness, equality and dignity.

Arguments against the HRA

HRA stops terror suspects from being deported and that theHRA therefore favours undeserving individuals rather than protecting the legitimate freedoms of UK citizens and protecting UK as a whole. Eg, Abu Qatada (radical Muslim clerk) advocated for the use of violence in order to promote the Islamist cause and has spoken some time in British jails. He was wanted by security services to be deported to jordan but his legal advisors managed to delay this for 8 years on the grounds that he may be tried using evidence obtained through torture, a breach of the HRA.

Criticised for giving unelected judges too much power felt that these decisions bind the hands of the parliament and prevent it from tackling serious issues such as tourism, and deporting criminals and extremists.

Freedom of information act 2000

Made it easier for opposition journalists, MP’s and voters to ask for information about the government. The public also gained the right to access any information held about them NBU public bodies.

Introduced to built trust, and confidence in the authorities and make it easier to hold public authorities to account for their actions.

Between 2005-2015, there were over 400,000 requests under the act by central government. 90,000 denied because they were deemed not public matters.

Equality act 2010

Brought together 116 pieces of legislation on discrimination together into one act to make the law easier to understand the provide extra protection in som areas. (Including the 1970 equal pay act and the 1976 race relations act).

Identified protected characteristics that made it illegal for public bodies, employers, service providers, and other organisations and individuals to discriminate against people on any of there grounds in the workplace or in wider society.

There included age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Stonewall

Charity and pressure group that advocates for LGBTQ rights.

Insider group in new labour gov in 1997.

Formed in opposition of section 28 of the 1988 local government act introduced by thatchers government. This prohibited the “promotion of homosexuality’ by local authorities.

Involved in legislative achievements including equalising the age of consent to 16 years old as part of the sexual offences act 2000.

Introduction of the civil partnerships act in 2004

Now an outsider group as a result of government policy.

Parliament and government defending and protecting rights

2010 equality act - Browns government

Same sex marriage in 2013 legalised by Camerons government

Parliament can prevent legislation that encroached on human rights by voting down bills

The policing, crime, sentencing and courts act 2022

Gives grater powers to the police and criminal justice system to impose restriction on unacceptable pretests’

Gives the Home Secretary significant powers to decide the type of protest deemed unacceptable by the state.

Day after act car into effect, anti-Brexit activist Steve Bray had his amplification equipment seized by police.

Extremly controversial law that has widely been criticised by human rights groups, journalists and politicians ho argue that it infringes on freedom of speech and the right to protest in the UK.