Human rights of people in care at risk due to slow progress on visiting – report – The Independent

‘The human rights of people in care are at risk of being breached by slow progress on enabling visits and the inappropriate use of resuscitation notices, a report has warned.’

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The Independent, 22nd July 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act can be “read down” to accord with Convention family rights – UK Human Rights Blog

‘This poignant case tells a sad story, but an instructive one in terms of human rights and the ability of courts to interpret statutes in accordance with these rights under Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th July 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Is The Prevent Programme Compatible With Human Rights? – Each Other

Posted July 19th, 2022 in equality, freedom of expression, human rights, news, terrorism by sally

‘Many organisations and individuals have criticised the government’s Prevent programme, which forms part of the UK counter-terrorism strategy.’

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Each Other, 18th July 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Forced adoptions: Call for government apology to mothers – BBC News

Posted July 15th, 2022 in adoption, children, families, human rights, inquiries, news, select committees, women by tracey

‘Hundreds of thousands of unmarried women who were forced to give up their babies for adoption should receive a government apology, a report has said.’

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BBC News, 15th July 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Kirsty Hughes: The Bill of Rights and the Precarity of Abortion Rights – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 12th, 2022 in abortion, bills, human rights, news, Northern Ireland by tracey

‘In the aftermath of the US Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization attention has turned to whether abortion is adequately protected in the UK from the winds of political change. Given that in England, Scotland, and Wales abortion is provided for by ordinary Act of Parliament, and in Northern Ireland by Regulation, an orthodox view of the constitution indicates that it is not. In response to Dobbs it has been suggested that the pending Bill of Rights should be amended to provide for a right to abortion. That proposal was swiftly rejected by Dominic Raab on the basis that abortion is settled in UK law – a view that is somewhat contradicted by ongoing difficulties in respect of abortion in Northern Ireland.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 11th July 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

What the Princess of Pop teaches us about Capacity – Belinda Cheney – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 11th, 2022 in Court of Protection, deputyship, human rights, mental health, news by tracey

‘I was gripped by the Britney Spears saga. This phenomenally successful pop star was deemed to lack capacity in relation to most aspects of her life and finances for more than 13 years allowing her father full control over her considerable fortune and her person and critically, she was unable to object until the “Free Britney” movement highlighted the rampant injustice of the situation. Only then was she was permitted to appoint her own lawyer and “freed”. In this we consider briefly the similarities and differences between the US conservatorship and the UK deputyship.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th July 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

When is a Right not a Right? The British Bill of Rights – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted July 8th, 2022 in bills, brexit, constitutional law, human rights, news by sally

‘The Bill of Rights Bill, which repeals the Human Rights Act 1998, claims to ‘give effect’ to the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. (Cl. 2). But its core aim is to ‘increase democratic oversight of human rights issues’ (Explanatory Note 2. B. p. 3). This aim is sought in a number of ways, one of the most important being set out in Clause 7.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 7th July 2022

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

The Bill of Rights Act 2022 and employment law: free speech implications – by Gus Baker – UK Labour Law

‘The “Bill of Rights Bill” (the “Bill”), introduced to Parliament on 22 June this year, has the potential to have significant implications for employment law. Once tribunals and courts accept the Bill’s exhortation to give “great weight” to freedom of speech, the consequences for workplace relations may be profound.’

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UK Labour Law, 6th July 2022

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

Stefan Theil: Henry VIII on steroids – executive overreach in the Bill of Rights Bill – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘Constitutional bombshells do not come along very often, most change is incremental and piecemeal – or at least that was the conventional wisdom that prevailed on the UK constitution for many decades. More recently, it appears that scarcely a month passes without suggestions, discussions, proposals, or enactments of far-reaching constitutional reforms – whether through government consultations, changes to the ministerial code, the political and legal constitution and devolution, or bills specifically introduced into Parliament to break international law.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th July 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Government Looks To Re-Criminalise Rough Sleeping In Levelling Up Bill – Each Other

Posted July 7th, 2022 in bills, homelessness, human rights, news, repeals, vagrancy by sally

‘The government has proposed replacing previously repealed legislation that makes begging and rough sleeping a criminal offence. The move comes after parliament scrapped the Vagrancy Act, a 200-year-old law that criminalised sleeping rough and begging in England and Wales. The Act was repealed through an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (PCSCA) in April.’

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Each Other, 7th July 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Iain Jamieson: Effect of the Bill of Rights upon the meaning of Convention Rights under the Scotland Act – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 6th, 2022 in brexit, constitutional law, devolution issues, human rights, news, Scotland by sally

‘The relationship between the Scotland Act 1998 (“the SA”), Convention rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 (“the HRA”) is well known.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 5th July 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Karolina Szopa and Jamie Fletcher: The Future of Abortion Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights in Light of Dobbs – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 4th, 2022 in abortion, constitutional law, human rights, news, pregnancy, women by tracey

‘On Friday 24th June 2022, in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) overruled the right to an abortion nearly 50 years since it first declared it a constitutionally protected right. An outpour of protests and condemnation followed the release of the opinion, with many legal professionals, politicians and NGOs across Europe speaking out against the devastating consequences this decision will have on women’s and other pregnant people’s rights in the US. Pregnancy holds implications for women’s physical and social identity, with repercussions on the woman’s economic status, her chance for education, career and ability to pursue the life she chooses, not least to mention her physical health. In the opinion of this blog’s authors, a pivotal decision such as access to an abortion should be shielded from state interference.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 30th June 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Non-Binary Passports: R (on the application of Elan-Cane) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) [2021] UKSC 56 – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Appellant in R (on the application of Elan-Cane) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) [2021] UKSC 56 was assigned female at birth, however during and after puberty they felt revulsion at their body and underwent surgery in 1989 and 1990 to alleviate those feelings. The Appellant who identifies as non-gendered, is a campaigner for the legal and social recognition of this category. The provision of “X passports” are a focal point of the Appellant’s campaign.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 4th July 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

ECHR dismisses discrimation claim against council housing policy for Orthodox Jewish community – Local Government Lawyer

‘A legal challenge claiming the London Borough of Hackney’s decision not to refer a mother to a housing association on the basis of her not being part of the Orthodox Jewish Community (OJC) has been unanimously dismissed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st July 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Article 2 inquest determination concerning Community Mental Health Services quashed – Local Government Lawyer

‘Dominic Ruck Keene outlines a case in which an article 2 inquest determination concerning Community Mental Health Services was quashed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st July 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Dominic Raab says right to abortion does not need to be in bill of rights – The Guardian

Posted June 30th, 2022 in abortion, bills, human rights, news by sally

‘Dominic Raab has expressed doubts about including the right to an abortion in the forthcoming bill of rights, saying the matter was already “settled in UK law”.’

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The Guardian, 29th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Clause Seven of the Bill of Rights Bill: Diluting Rights Protection and Undermining Parliamentary Democracy – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘If enacted in its present form the Bill of Rights Bill would compromise judicial independence, dilute ECHR rights protection, and undermine the principle of parliamentary democracy that it purports to protect. The Bill seeks to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) in full and replace it with legislation which, according to a Government press release, will “ensure courts cannot interpret laws in ways that were never intended by Parliament”. It also seeks to inject a “healthy dose of common sense” into courts’ protection of Convention rights.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 27th June 2022

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

High Court gives guidance on scope of article 2 inquests – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 29th, 2022 in bias, coroners, evidence, human rights, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by sally

‘In R (Gorani) v HM Assistant Coroner for Inner West London [2022] EWHC1593 (QB), a Divisional Court comprising Macur LJ and Garnham J rejected on all grounds a wide-ranging challenge to the conduct of in inquest into a suicide. Of particular interest were the Court’s observations on the effect of a finding that the investigative duty under article 2, ECHR was engaged, and their clarification that a coroner does not need to hear submissions before refusing to make a ‘preventing future deaths’ report. That said, it is a broad and interesting judgment and deserves reading in full by those with an interest in coronial law.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th June 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Daniella Lock: Three Ways the Bill of Rights Bill Undermines UK Sovereignty – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The Bill of Rights Bill is framed by the Government as necessary to ensure “meaningful democratic oversight” of human rights protection in the UK, with Conservative MPs keen to present the Bill as a means to restore sovereignty in the face of interfering judges – both at the level of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and UK courts. However, as this post will argue, the Bill undermines sovereignty and meaningful democratic oversight of rights protection in at least three ways not acknowledged by the Government and the Bill’s supporters. These are in the Bill’s process, presentation and procedures. That is, sovereignty is undermined by, first, the Bill’s process through Parliament, second, its presentation to Parliament by the Government, and third, via the procedures contained in the Bill that facilitate executive interference with judicial scrutiny of human rights protection. As we will see, while the Government purports to be placing parliamentary authority at the centre of UK human rights protection, in reality the executive is seeking more power to manipulate human rights law to its own advantage.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th June 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Warning new internet laws will hand ministers ‘unprecedented’ powers – The Independent

‘New internet legislation will hand ministers “unprecedented” censorship powers, with significant implications for free speech, new research warns.’

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The Independent, 27th June 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk