Category: human rights

Wind farms, birds, and that pesky thing called the rule of law – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 29th, 2013 in appeals, EC law, energy, environmental protection, human rights, inquiries, judicial review, news, rule of law, Scotland by sally

“The current storms brought down a turbine in Teignmouth: see here for good pics of this and other mayhem. And the rule of law recently brought down a massive wind farm proposed for Shetland. The Scottish Ministers had waved aside a request for a public inquiry, and ended up drafting reasons which ignored the obligations in the Wild Birds Directive in respect of this bird – the whimbrel. Lady Clark quashed the consent on this ground, and also decided that the wind farmer could not apply for the consent anyway because it had not got the requisite licence which she concluded was a pre-condition for such an application. ”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Threats to modern democracy – why the UK should take note – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted October 29th, 2013 in constitutional law, elections, human rights, news, political parties by sally

“Recent events in the US have made us all aware of the essential vulnerability of modern political and economic systems. For a while it seemed as though the most powerful economy in the world was heading towards self-destruction, owing to the failure of a small number of senior politicians to reach a consensus that would avoid such an outcome. Now that disaster has been at least temporarily averted, it seems appropriate to try to analyse how this situation arose.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 28th October 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Court of Appeal refuses anonymity for offender – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 28th, 2013 in anonymity, appeals, drug offences, families, harassment, human rights, judicial review, media, news, rape, reporting restrictions by sally

“Only ‘clear and cogent evidence’ that it was strictly necessary to keep an offender’s identity confidential would lead a court to derogate from the principle of open justice. The possibility of a media campaign that might affect the offender’s resettlement could not work as a justification for banning reporting about that offender, even though a prominent and inaccurate report about him had already led to harassment of his family.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Another hall of mirrors human rights story from the Telegraph – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 28th, 2013 in airports, bills, human rights, intelligence services, investigatory powers, media, news, police, select committees, stop and search, terrorism by sally

“Yesterday saw another poor piece of human rights reporting from the Telegraph, again from Home Affairs Correspondent David Barrett. Strasbourg human rights court threatens key counter-terrorism powers. It is a typical piece of hall-of-mirrors reporting; all of the basic elements are there but presented in a distorted and inaccurate way.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 27th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Report to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the Government response to human rights judgments 2012–13 – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 24th, 2013 in human rights, judgments, parliamentary papers, reports by tracey

“This is the latest in a series of annual reports to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) setting out the Government’s record on the implementation of adverse Human Rights judgments.”

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Ministry of Justice, 24th October 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Sarjantson and another v Chief Constable of Humberside Police – WLR Daily

Posted October 23rd, 2013 in appeals, assault, delay, duty of care, human rights, law reports, negligence, police, statutory duty, victims by tracey

Sarjantson and another v Chief Constable of Humberside Police: [2013] EWCA Civ 1252;   [2013] WLR (D)  393

“The positive duty on the state (the police) to avert a real and immediate risk to life or injury, pursuant to articles 2 and 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, was not limited to identified or identifiable persons. It was sufficient that such potential victims were known or should be known to exist; and it made no difference that the risk arose during an incident which had already commenced.”

WLR Daily, 18th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Coroners inquest enough to satisfy Article 2 in mental health suicide case – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in human rights, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by tracey

“R (Antoniou) v (1) Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; (2) Secretary of State for Health; (3) NHS England [2013] EWHC 3055 (Admin).Where a patient, detained in hospital under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983, takes their own life, Article 2 imposes procedural obligations on the State to investigate the circumstances of the death. These obligations are fulfilled by a coroner’s inquest. Unlike in prison and police station deaths, there need not be any independent investigation system prior to the inquest stage, and nor does Article 2 require one.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Regina (Chester) v Secretary of State for Justice and another; McGeoch v Lord President of the Council and another – WLR Daily

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in appeals, declarations of incompatibility, elections, human rights, law reports, prisons, Supreme Court by tracey

Regina (Chester) v Secretary of State for Justice and another; McGeoch v Lord President of the Council and another: [2013] UKSC 63;   [2013] WLR (D)  392

“The statutory blanket ban on convicted prisoners voting was incompatible with article 3 of the First Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. However, where a declaration of incompatibility had already been made in other proceedings and the matter was under active consideration by Parliament, a further declaration of incompatibility, being a discretionary remedy, was not appropriate.”

WLR Daily, 16th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Unison to challenge employment tribunal fees in High Court – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in employment tribunals, fees, human rights, news, trade unions, tribunals by tracey

“The union is bringing a legal challenge over the introduction of fees for employment tribunals to the High Court tomorrow.”

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Daily Telegraph, 21st October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Triple killer escapes whole life tariff because of European ruling – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in human rights, murder, news, sentencing by tracey

“A triple killer, who slashed a pensioner’s throat when he tried to stop him robbing a neighbour, has avoided a whole life prison sentence after the judge said such a punishment was illegal under European law.”

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Daily Telegraph, 21st October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Last gasp of the super-injunction – RPC Privacy Law

Posted October 21st, 2013 in data protection, human rights, injunctions, news, privacy, statistics by sally

“Super-injunctions are almost an extinct species. ‘Non-super’ privacy injunctions however remain alive and kicking with according to recent figures a 100% success rate on interim applications.”

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RPC Privacy Law, 21st October 2013

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

The latest prisoner votes judgment may be our Marbury v Madison – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 21st, 2013 in elections, human rights, judicial review, judiciary, news, prisons, Supreme Court by sally

“At first glance, prisoner voting proponents may interpret the Supreme Court’s R (Chester) v Justice Secretary decision (see Adam Wagner’s previous post) as a defeat for advancing prisoner voting rights in the UK. This blog post offers a different perspective. By comparing Chester to the seminal US Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison, we summarise that such proponents should take a step back and see the wood, rather than merely the trees. This is because Lord Mance’s Chester judgment offers human rights advocates, and therefore supporters of prisoner voting rights, an unequivocal foundation from which to defend future human rights claims.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 20th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Balance of Competences Fundamental Rights Review – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 21st, 2013 in consultations, EC law, human rights, news by sally

“The Balance of Competences Review was announced by the Foreign Secretary William Hague in July 2012 to examine the balance of competences between the UK and the European Union.”

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Ministry of Justice, 21st October 2013

Source: www.consult.justice.gov.uk

Should we have an enforceable right to food? – Professor Geraldine van Bueren Q.C. – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 21st, 2013 in enforcement, food, human rights, news, statutory duty by sally

“Nearly eight hundred years ago, in 1216 English law first recognized a right to food. Yet between April and September this year over 350,000 people received three days’ emergency food from the Trussell Trust food banks, triple the numbers helped in the same period last year.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Ofsted fairness standards graded inadequate – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted October 21st, 2013 in complaints, freedom of information, human rights, injunctions, judicial review, news, ombudsmen, oral hearings, quality assurance, school children, standards by sally

“The Care Quality Commission has made headlines recently with the focus on inadequacies in its processes as a regulator and its failure to spot sub-standard and even dangerous levels of care. Its fellow regulator Ofsted, however, is more likely to be accused of being over – rather than under – zealous, but its approach has been subject to far less scrutiny.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 18th October 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Ruvi Ziegler: The missing right to vote: The UK Supreme Court’s judgment in Chester and McGeoch – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted October 21st, 2013 in bills, EC law, elections, human rights, news, prisons, Supreme Court by sally

“On 16 October 2013, a seven-judge panel of the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) unanimously rejected two challenges (R (Chester) v Secretary of State for Justice and McGeoch v The Lord President of the Council & Anor and the judgment summary) brought by prisoners serving terms of life imprisonment against their disenfranchisement in UK national elections pursuant to section 3(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (RPA) and in EU Parliamentary elections and UK local elections pursuant to section 8(2) of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002.”

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 21st October 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Legal claims ‘could paralyse’ armed forces – BBC News

Posted October 21st, 2013 in Afghanistan, armed forces, costs, duty of care, human rights, Iraq, jurisdiction, negligence, news, prosecutions, Supreme Court by sally

“A ‘sustained legal assault’ on British forces could have ‘catastrophic consequences’ for the safety of the nation, an influential right-leaning think tank has warned.”

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BBC News, 18th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police face legal challenge over secret files on protesters – The Guardian

Posted October 21st, 2013 in criminal records, database right, demonstrations, human rights, news, police, privacy by sally

“Police chiefs face a legal challenge over their policy of keeping secret files on thousands of political activists.”

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The Guardian, 18th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Back to basics: why a public authority can’t be an HRA victim – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 18th, 2013 in freedom of expression, government departments, human rights, local government, news, sport by tracey

“David Mead looks at a case in which the Olympic Delivery Agency got an injunction against protesters: Olympic Delivery Authority v Persons Unknown. The ODA was a public authority, and the protesters were advancing defences under Articles 10 (freedom of expression) and 11 (freedom of association). Arnold J dismissed the defences on the basis that these rights needed to be balanced against the ODA’s rights to property under A1P1.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

UK Supreme Court judgment: R (Chester) v Justice Secretary, McGeoch v Lord President – Head of Legal

Posted October 18th, 2013 in elections, human rights, news, prisons, Supreme Court by tracey

“It’s no surprise that the Supreme Court has today unanimously dismissed appeals by two prisoners who wanted various remedies under the Human Rights Act and EU law for being denied the vote in Parliamentary, local, Scottish Parliament and European elections. These cases were always weak.”

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Head of Legal, 16th October 2013

Source: www.headoflegal.com