Various ways rights are protected

Thesis Point 1 -HRA incorporated ECHR into UK law

• Citizens don’t have to go to EU courts

• Makes Public bodies comply

• Abu Qatada protected by HRA from extradition to Jordan

Anti Thesis point 1 - Rights aren’t constitutionally entrenched and can be repealed

• Due to Parliametary soverignty they can repeal legislation

• The Conservative Party has repeatedly discussed replacing the HRA with a “British Bill of Rights,” reflecting how fragile current protections are. The Rwanda immigration policy has also sparked debates over the UK’s commitment to the ECHR.

Thesis point 2 - The Judiciary is an independent check on executive power

• protecting individual rights against unlawful government action. They have the authority to issue “declarations of incompatibility” when legislation conflicts with the HRA.

• In R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (2017), the Supreme Court affirmed parliamentary sovereignty, preventing the executive from triggering Article 50 without Parliament’s consent.

Anti Thesis point 2 - The UK lacks a single codified constitution

• It’s derived from numerous sources which makes them more piecemeal and potentially inconsistent.

• common law supports rights like habeas corpus and freedom of expression, the lack of a constitutional anchor means such rights can be overridden by Parliament.

• 9/11 rights of terrorists suspects set aside 2005 sunset clause 14-90 days

Thesis point 3 - Parliamentary oversight scrutinise laws

• Committees like the Joint Committee on Human Rights examine bills for their compliance with human rights standards and call the government to account.

• The Committee has critiqued legislation such as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, warning it could unduly limit protest rights.

• the presence of rights-conscious committees and debates ensures that potential infringements can be highlighted and challenged before laws are passed.

Anti Thesis point 3 - Rights can be curtailed during crises

• In times of emergency, the state has often acted to limit rights in the name of security or public health, and these powers are not always proportionally checked.

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coronavirus Act 2020 granted sweeping emergency powers, including restrictions on movement, assembly, and protest. Similarly, anti-terror legislation like the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 increased state surveillance capacities