Member-only story
Human rights are universal and threatened in the offices of the state, not in a court in London or Strasbourg.
I have been writing a response to the Govt’s consultation on the Human Rights Act. The deadline is midnight this Tuesday. Here is a version of preamble.
I believe that Human Rights law codifies rights and are designed to prohibit and punish over-mighty Governments & politicians that oppress their citizens and their non-citizen residents. They are universal and thus not to be only available to a deserving minority or to be denied to an undeserving minority.
The Human Rights Act and access to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is a crucial defence for all citizens and provides an enhanced route to enforce the rights of public sector workers.
I note that there were only two adverse judgements in 2020, and that since the HRA was passed, the number of adverse determinations has reduced dramatically. This is good because it reduces the cost of justice to those wronged by the State.
I oppose the weakening of the court’s discretion, reducing access to the courts and the weakening of the prohibitions on Government actions. I note that weakening the courts’ ability to take the ECtHR’s rulings into account is likely to lead to more cases being taken to Strasbourg.
