rights examples

Insider groups example and what it did

LGBTQ rights pressure group Stonewall used insider contacts and favour in new labour government to introduce new laws and policies - equalising age of consent for gay and straight individuals under the sexual offences act 2000

Outsider group example and what it did

Care4Calais - rights of refugees in the UK - success in June 2022 when first planned deportation flight to Rwanda emptied

Liberty failure and why

Prevent police, crime, sentencing and courts act from being passed in 2021 Due to public opposition to disruptive protests

Overall argument for pressure groups protecting rights

Effectiveness depends on the government in power and their willingness

Examples of government passing legislation to protect rights

Gordon brown 2010 equality act, Cameron and clegg legalised same sex marriage in 2013 despite it not being in the Conservative Party manifesto

Gov measures that threaten individual rights being justified

Covid - removal of freedom of movement and assembly to protect the common god

How can parliament be effective in protecting rights

Preventing gov from encroaching on rights by voting down bills

Example of parliament scrutinising government

2005 HOC and HOL voted down clairs proposal to allow police to hold terrorist suspects for 90 days without charge - compromise eventually passed at 28 days

Example of government threatening individual rights

Police, crime sentencing and courts act, safety of Rwanda act

Labour government failing to protect rights of asylum seekers

2025 gov revised the good character guidance to deny British citizenship to refugees who entered through unauthorised or dangerous routes - violates rights of refugees under 1951 refugee convention

Overall judgement on gov and parliament vis a vis rights

Do not protect rights due to gov dominating parliament

How does HRA 1998 help rights protection

Enshrined ECHR into UK law - individuals can take cases to domestic courts rather than Strasbourg

What happened in A v security act 2001

SC declared anti-terrorism, crime and security act 2001 incompatible - parliament introduced terrorism act 2005 to fix this

Why HRA is not effective

Not entrenched and can be repealed

UV binding nature flaw

Gov can just change law to make their actions legal

Example of government circumventing SC

Safety of Rwanda act

HRA favouring rights of undeserving individuals over collective

Abu Qatada - advocated for violence - deportation to Jordan was delayed for 8 years under the HRA even though he posed a threat to national security

Overall judgement on HRA

In theory protects rights but in practice no