Human Rights

Timothy: U.K. Should Withdraw from ECHR

June 03, 2015

Nick Timothy, former Chief of Staff to the British Home Secretary, writes that in order to reclaim the authority of the U.K. Parliament to decide the proper balance among human rights, Britain should produce a new Bill of Rights and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR").
Guardian: U.K. Prepared to Break with ECHR

June 03, 2015

The Guardian reports that U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is keeping open the option of withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR") if his calls for the recognition of British parliamentary authority over Strasbourg judgments are not answered.
U.K. May Consider "English Bill of Rights"

June 03, 2015

The Independent reports that the U.K. Justice Secretary Michael Gove may be considering sidestepping opposition of Scottish officials to the Government's plan to replace the U.K. Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights by preparing an "English Bill of Rights" that does not apply to Scotland.
Murray: Pro-HRA Campaign Spreads "Misinformation"

June 02, 2015

Douglas Murray of the Henry Jackson Society writes that the campaign to stop the replacement of the U.K. Human Rights Act ("HRA") with a British Bill of Rights often ignores the fact that Britain recognized the rights at the basis of the HRA prior to its passage in 1998.
Pearson: ECHR-Inspired Act Makes Britain Less Safe

May 29, 2015

Allison Pearson writes that the U.K. Human Rights Act, which requires British judges to "take into account" rulings from a supranational court on the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR"), makes the British people less safe by hamstringing the authority of the government to protect them.
Lord Judge Expresses Concern on ECtHR Influence

May 27, 2015

Former Lord Chief Justice Judge has indicated that he has “great reservations” about the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) countering decisions of the U.K. Parliament and that the U.K. must make a clear decision on the future of the British Human Rights Act.
Judge: ECtHR Judgments Do Not Bind U.K. Courts

May 27, 2015

Lord Justice Leveson of the U.K. Queen's Bench Division has argued that although U.K. judges initially looked upon judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) as binding, they have more recently understood that they are not required to follow these precedents.
Heartfield: ECHR-Based Act Has Not Protected Rights in U.K.

May 27, 2015

Author James Heartfield argues that the U.K.’s implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”) through its Human Rights Act restricted human rights in the U.K. by giving the responsibility of rights protection to a judiciary with limited, procedure-based authority.
Ombudsman: Member States Use EU Funds in Rights Violations

May 21, 2015

EurActiv reports that the EU Ombudsman has called on officials to perform visits to member states to ensure that EU funds, intended to spur economic growth, are not used to violate fundamental rights, especially in countries "with a less positive track record."
EU Requires Emergency Automobile Tracking Devices

April 29, 2015

Recent EU legislation will require all new cars in the EU, beginning in 2018, to be fitted with a tracking system that will automatically alert authorities in the case of a crash.