Tag: HRA
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Edmund Robinson: Fumbling with interpretation – Clause 5 of the Bill of Rights and the positive obligations challenge
The ‘Bill of Rights Bill’, repealing and replacing the Human Rights Act, has already attracted significant criticism. This post focuses on clause 5, with which the government seeks to give effect to its previously expressed scepticism regarding ‘positive obligations’. These are duties on the authorities to take positive measures to protect individuals from human rights…
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Conall Mallory: Beyond Fantasy Island: The British solution to the extraterritorial conundrum
Addressing the extraterritorial application of the ECHR has emerged as one of the priorities in the UK Government’s pursuit of ‘updating’ human rights law. In recent months, the outline of an ostensible solution to the challenge posed by extraterritorial obligations has taken shape. In December, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab stated the issue was one the Government…
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Lewis Graham: Going beyond, and going against, the Strasbourg Court
Section 2 of the Human Rights Act (HRA) requires that domestic courts “take into account” relevant Strasbourg case law when dealing with substantive claims under that Act. The classic authority on the application of this provision remains – for now – that of Lord Bingham: courts should “keep pace with the Strasbourg jurisprudence as it evolves over time:…
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James Bevan: Anti-HRA Rhetoric and the Conservative Party 2019 Manifesto: Are the Proposals for a British Bill of Rights and Repeal of the Human Rights Act “Dead in the Water”?
The ECHR was incorporated into UK domestic law through the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), which came into effect in October 2000 and has been hailed as a “constitutional statute” enjoying limited protection from implied repeal which this status brings (see Thoburn v Sunderland City Council). It has been further referred to as a “higher…
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Hanna Wilberg: The Limits of the Rule of Law’s Demands: Where Privacy International Abandons Anisminic
Statutory ouster of judicial review has long been considered to offend the rule of law. But just what does the rule of law demand in this context, and is ouster really inconsistent with those demands in all circumstances? Some interesting answers to these questions feature in R (Privacy International) v Investigatory Powers Tribunal. At least…
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Richard Ekins: Human Rights and the Morality of Law
This is part of a series of posts in which Richard Ekins reflects upon Lord Sumption’s Reith Lectures. You can find the first post here. In his third Reith lecture, broadcast yesterday and entitled “Human Rights and Wrongs”, Jonathan Sumption examines international human rights law, “the main battleground between law and politics”. His strategy is…
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Benedict Douglas: The Fundamental Tension Underlying the UK Constitution
Are we defined by the duties we owe or the choices we make? Until very recently UK citizens have predominantly understood their personal identity, what is right and wrong, and how they should be governed, in terms of the duties they owe. This view of the individual is found within the UK Constitution and forms…
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Finnian Clarke: The Worboys Parole Board Decision: Right Outcome, Wrong Reasons
Introduction The decision of the Divisional Court in the matter of R (DSD and NVB) v Parole Board of England and Wales, or the “Worboys Parole Board” case, was described by the Court as “wholly exceptional”, [3]. The Court, comprising Sir Brian Leveson, Mr Justice Jay and Mr Justice Garnham, quashed the decision of the…
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Anurag Deb: Re McLaughlin: Normalising the Departure from Strasbourg?
30 August 2018 marked the end of a long journey for Siobhan McLaughlin: on 28 January 2014 her partner of 23 years John Adams passed away and she took on sole responsibility for their four children. Since then, she has fought to be granted financial assistance from the State, which is reserved for individuals who…
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![Shona Wilson Stark: In Re Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s Application for Judicial Review [2018] UKSC 27: A Declaration in All but Name?](https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/shona-wilson-stark.jpg)
Shona Wilson Stark: In Re Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s Application for Judicial Review [2018] UKSC 27: A Declaration in All but Name?
All eyes were on the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) last week as it gave judgment in In Re Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s Application for Judicial Review [2018] UKSC 27, the case challenging the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) compatibility of Northern Ireland’s abortion legislation. Such a case is always bound to be headline-grabbing…