Supreme Court judge on war, intelligence and the retreat of judicial deference – UK Human Rights Blog

“The recent standoff between two leading judicial lights, Jonathan Sumption and Stephen Sedley, may make for entertaining reading, but don’t be fooled.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 20th May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Housing benefit system discriminated against disabled people, rules Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 21st, 2012 in appeals, benefits, disability discrimination, housing, human rights, news by sally

“In the same week that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan-Smith, announced his intention to implement sweeping reforms of the current system of disability benefits, the Court of Appeal has ruled that housing benefit rules were discriminatory against disabled people, in breach of Article 14 read with Article 1 Protocol 1 of the European Convention.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The Good Constitution: Sir David Williams Lecture – Speech by Lord Justice Laws

Posted May 18th, 2012 in constitutional law, human rights, judicial review, speeches by sally

The Good Constitution (PDF)

Speech by Lord Justice Laws

Sir David Williams Lecture, 4th May 2012

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Disability Discrimination and Housing Allowance: The Importance of Article 14 – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted May 16th, 2012 in appeals, benefits, disability discrimination, housing, human rights, news by sally

“Desmond Rutledge explains a landmark Court of Appeal decision upholding the rights of the severely disabled.”

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Garden Court Chambers Blog, 15th May 2012

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Removing full right of appeal for family visitors – UK Border Agency

“A clause in the Crime and Courts Bill, published today, will remove the full right of appeal for those applying to enter the UK as a family visitor. Subject to Parliamentary approval and Royal Assent, this change is expected to come into force by 2014. Refused applicants will still be able to appeal on limited grounds of human rights or race discrimination.”

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UK Border Agency, 10th May 2012

Source: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

Top QC says human rights laws need “serious change” – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 14th, 2012 in human rights, judges, news, terrorism, victims by sally

“Next month Ben Emmerson QC, who is short-listed as a candidate to represent the UK at the ECHR, will address the UN to argue that more attention should be paid to the human rights of victims of terrorism. Peter Stanford meets him.”

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Daily Telegraph, 12th May 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Climate change human rights litigation: is it so radical? Nicola Peart – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 10th, 2012 in climate change, human rights, news by sally

“In the UK there are at present no rights expressly cast in terms applicable to climate change, nor have our traditional human rights been extensively interpreted as covering climate change consequences. As David Hart QC identifies in his blog, Is climate change a human rights issue?, human rights principles, to be useful for climate change litigators, have to have some democratic backing somewhere. So is there any hope, in the near future at least, of formally or even informally establishing a link between climate change and human rights in the UK? Is human rights based climate change litigation as ‘radical’ as David Hart suggests?”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Abu Qatada deportation appeal rejected by human rights court – The Guardian

Posted May 10th, 2012 in appeals, deportation, human rights, news, terrorism by sally

“The home secretary, Theresa May, is to make a renewed attempt to deport Abu Qatada after judges at the European court of human rights rejected his appeal to the Strasbourg court.”

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The Guardian, 9th May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Should we outlaw genetic discrimination? – UK Human Rights Blog

“Earlier this month the Association of British Insurers announced the latest extension on the moratorium on the use of genetic test results for insurance purposes. But is this ‘Concordat’ sufficient protection? Genetic technologies are becoming increasingly available and profound questions are arising in relation to life and health insurance and employability as genetic screening becomes cheaper and widespread.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Abu Qatada’s chances of success at Strasbourg are slim – The Guardian

Posted May 8th, 2012 in appeals, courts, human rights, news, time limits by sally

“Despite controversy over the deadline, I doubt the European court will agree to hear Abu Qatada’s appeal.”

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The Guardian, 8th May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Strasbourg judges have got it wrong in case of man’s mistreatment in custody – The Guardian

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in detention, human rights, mental health, news by sally

“Judgment in MS v UK from European court leaves publicly funded authorities threatened with litigation from all sides.”

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The Guardian, 3rd May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mentally ill man’s detention in police cell breached his human rights – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in detention, human rights, mental health, news by sally

“A violent mentally ill man who was kept in a police cell for more than three days without medical treatment suffered ‘inhuman or degrading treatment’, European human rights judges have ruled.”

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd May 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The ECHR and democratic legitimacy – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in courts, human rights, news, treaties by sally

“Two interesting articles on the UK Human Rights Blog recently raised once again the question of the legitimacy of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd May 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Time, time, time, look what’s become of me – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in courts, human rights, news, time limits by sally

“In law, time can be everything. Every lawyer will have experienced waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat at the realisation that a time limit has been missed. Courts often have the discretion to extend litigation time limits, such as under rule 3.1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, but simple mistakes by lawyers rarely generate sympathy from judges. Even scarier, judges sometimes do not even have the power to extend time at all, however unfair the circumstances. The idea is to encourage certainty and predictability in the legal system.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Abu Qatada appeal hearing due next Wednesday – The Guardian

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in appeals, deportation, human rights, news, terrorism, time limits by sally

“European human rights judges will decide next Wednesday whether Abu Qatada’s appeal against his deportation from Britain should be allowed to go ahead.”

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The Guardian, 2nd May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

“Murder most foul”: The right to life investigating homicide – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 2nd, 2012 in coroners, human rights, inquests, judicial review, murder, news by sally

“In what circumstances is a criminal trial not sufficient to discharge the State’s duties under Article 2, the right to life, towards a victim of murder? The High Court held last week in this tragic case that a Coroner unlawfully and unreasonably decided not to resume an inquest into the death of a teenage girl where her killer had been ruled unfit to plead at the Old Bailey and handed an indefinite hospital order.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 1st May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Babar Ahmad: Extradition to the US – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 1st, 2012 in extradition, human rights, news, terrorism by sally

“The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is often accused of getting it wrong and recently it seems hardly a day goes by without its decisions being maligned. However, politicians and commentators on all sides of the political spectrum have welcomed the court’s ruling in the case of Abu Hamza and others, which also included Babar Ahmad.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 24th April 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Regina (T) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis; Regina (R) Same – WLR Daily

Regina (T) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis; Regina (R) Same [2012] EWHC 1115 (Admin); [2012] WLR (D) 126

“The decision of the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis to issue and serve warning notices to those who had been accused of harassment or stalking by means of a Prevention of Harassment Letter or a Police Information Notice, and the retention of the documents or the underlying allegations in police records thereafter, could not give rise to any infringement of the subject’s rights under article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms or under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the associated principles.”

WLR Daily, 27th April 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

New report on worldwide human rights and democracy – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 1st, 2012 in human rights, news, reports by sally

“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has launched the Human Rights and Democracy- The 2011 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report, which aims to provide ‘a comprehensive look at the human rights work of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) around the world in 2011’. The report makes for essential reading for anyone with an interest in human rights at the global level.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th April 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Lord Lester QC: Britain risks losing influence in European human rights court – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 30th, 2012 in human rights, judges, news by sally

“Britain risks losing influence in the European Court of Human Rights law following the departure of a leading judge, an expert has warned.”

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Daily Telegraph, 27th April 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk