legislation and rights

what is the european convention on human rights?

an international treaty that guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms to individuals within its members states

what is the human rights act?

brought the rights of the ECHR into UK law, enabling individuals to seek justice in UK courts for human rights breaches and for public bodies to uphold these rights

what are arguments for the UK constitution protecting human rights?

relatively strong international framework extends beyond the courts, with UK constitutional cultures valuing civil liberties

what must every parliamentary act contain in regard to human rights?

a declaration that the act complied with the HRA 1998

what are arguments against the UK constitution protecting human rights?

existing framework is vulnerable to political attack, and european judgements going against UK policies sparks regular media attacks on the supreme court

what does the uncodified nature of the UK constitution mean about human rights?

people are often unaware of them, unlike the USA where fundamental rights are enshrined in the constitution

why do conservative MP's believe a British bill of rights would restore parliamentary sovereignty?

they argue the HRA allows UK courts to interpret legislation in a way that can overrule parliament

why do conservative MP's believe a British bill of rights would restore border control and deportation?

they argue the ECHR prevents the swift removal of foreign national offenders and illegal arrivals

why do conservative MP's believe a British bill of rights would reform the judicial system?

the current system allows for activist challenges against government policies, such as the Rwanda deportation plans causing legal uncertainty

how are citizens rights in the UK primarily protected?

through statute law

how does citizens rights being protected by statute law make them vulnerable to change?

they are not entrenched constitutional rights and can be weakened by parliament due to parliamentary sovereignty

how is greater clarity an argument that the UK constitution should be codified?

clarity on what is constitutional and lawful would modernise the political process by removing the vagueness of custom and tradition

how is codification going against the tradition of UK politics an argument that the UK constitution should remain uncodified?

parliament would struggle to reach consensus on much of the content on a codified constitution due to its history of evolution rather than revolution

how is flexibility and adaptability an argument that the UK constitution should remain uncodified?

codified constitutions are more rigid and less able to respond to changing circumstances

what are individual rights?

rights held by individual citizens which protect them from unfair treatment and ensures personal freedoms

what are collective rights?

rights belonging to groups of individuals, such as trade unions or groups reflecting a certain characteristic

what were owners prosecuted for in the Asher's baking company case?

refusing to bake a cake for a gay rights activist who had asked them to incorporate the slogan "support gay marriage"

what was the courts decision in the Asher's baking company case?

the bakery was guilty of discrimination of the message on the cake, which they would have objected to regardless of the customers sexual orientation

what does the Asher's baking company case demonstrate?

the individual right to free speech can prevail over the collective rights of the LGBT community

what do FGM case studies focus on?

the traditional cultural practice by some minority groups in parts of africa and the middle east which is illegal in most countries

what is the legal framework of FGM cases?

any suspected cases of FGM are required by law to be reported immediately to police under UK child safeguarding rules

what act is FGM illegal under in the UK?

the female genital mutilation act 2003

how do rights conflict in cases of FGM?

individual rights of a citizen to follow cultural practices and the collective rights of wider UK society who see the practice as child abuse