ETV that UK citizens can only be confident in their civil liberties are effectively protected if an entrenched British bill of rights is enacted (30 marks)

P1: The ECHR is engaging in mission creep

• This courts jurisdiction continues to expand because it interprets human rights so broadly

• A conservative strategy paper in 2014 argues that judges treat the ECHR as a living instrument adapting its meaning over time

• Exapnding into areas beyond what the framers of the convention had in mind

• The HRA undermines the role of the UK courts in deciding on human rights issues because section 2 requires them to take into account the rulings of the Strasbourg court

• HRA undermines parliamentary sovereignty requiring UK judges to interpret UK laws that makes them compatible with the convention

The courts decision in Hurst v UK 2005 ruling that the UK's blanket ban on prisoners voting breaches human rights

 

The phrase degrading treatment and punishment will be more narrowly defined than the ECHR would define it

HOWEVER

• The ECHR has not engaged in mission creep this is an overstatement of its power, due to its wider connection with Europe

• UK judges only have to take into account the courts interpretation

Sadiq Khan cited the fact that whilst 1700 cases were bought against the government in 2014 only 8 had actually been upheld by the courts

P2: ECHR has affected parliamentary sovereignty and thus it needs changing

• The UK is required to implement the judges of the ECHR in Strasbourg

• The HRA 1998 allows UK judges to interpret legislation so that it complies with the HR or when it is not possible to issue a declaration of incompatibility

• Conservatives have viewed the HRA as a trojan horse that allows a Euorpean conception of rights to take root within the UK

David Cameron-  parliament should decide whether prisoners get the vote not the SC

 

Truss- 'European court' ECHR needs scrapping and replacing

 

HOWEVER

• Parliamentary sovereignty has not been undermined by the Strasbourg court

• It is up to parliament to decide on how to respond to these rulings

Andrea khumba- the HRA gets the balance right between protected our rights and preserving parliamentary sovereignty

 

Prisoners still do not have the right to vote

 

Rwanda 2024- passed anyway

P3: A bill of rights would reflect the balance between rights and responsibilities in the 21st century

• A Bill of Rights recognises the right to privacy but allows governments flexibility to counter terrorism much of which is orchestrated through encrypted messages on social media platforms

• A bill of rights could reflect a more liberal society

• Human Rights Act lacks entrenchment and that is why it can be altered and likely weakened, ensure gov. Cannot simply change it

The conservative manifesto 2019 pledged to update the human rights act- too easy to weaken

 

After the 9/11 terrror attacks in the USA in 2001 and the 7/7 bus bombings in 2005, the HRA did not stop the government limiting civil liberties in the interests of protecting the wider community. Ministers argued that they were entitled to detain terror suspects without trial on the ground that a national emergency existed.

 

In the case of Belmarsh 9, the law lords ruled that indefinite detention of foreign nationals on suspicion of involvement in terrorism was discriminatory- the government passed a new law to introduce a system of control order that enabled suspects to be closely monitored

 

HOWEVER

• Any repeal of the HRA will signal a british retreat from the post-war human rights architecture which has done so much to encourage the nations of Europe and beyond to adhere to basic human rights standards

• May give other countries the green light to scrap landmark HR legislation

• The HRA is an example of the benefits of the UK's flexible and pragmatic constitution providing more effective protection for civil liberties but stops short of allowing judges too much power

• The HRA has ultimately been significant in protecting civil liberties and any British bill of rights may allow governments to be the architects of rights

Abu Qatada rights upheld

 

August 2020 the pressure group liberty won an appeal ruling against south wales police for their use of facial recognition technology

 

Liberty 2017-equality act appeals

 

Amnesty internationals lobbying led to the UK government ratifiying the echr on action against trafficking in human beings in 2008