HS2 protestor’s conviction proportionate with human rights, High Court rules – OUT-LAW.com

‘The English and Welsh Divisional Court has found that it is proportionate to convict a protestor of trespass, providing potential reassurance to companies whose business is disrupted through protests.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th April 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Liberty threatens to sue government over ‘racist’ joint enterprise law – The Guardian

‘The human rights group Liberty is threatening to sue the government and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over the bitterly contested law of joint enterprise, arguing that it is discredited and racist in the way the authorities pursue it.’

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The Guardian, 7th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Profit making private providers of children’s care & breaches of Article 5 – Garden Court Chambers

‘For anyone concerned with the human rights of children AB (A Child: human rights) 2021 EWFC B100 is an essential read. The case concerned a 12-year-old boy, AB, who was placed under interim public law orders in foster care and then care homes run by Horizons Care Ltd. For several months, whilst awaiting a final hearing, AB had had his liberty restricted in a residential unit called Mill Cottage, in breach of his Article 5 rights.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 4th April 2022

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Case Comment: R (on the application of Z) v Hackney LBC [2020] UKSC 40 – UKSC Blog

‘The narrow result of this appeal is that, on the facts, it was proportionate and lawful for a charity to restrict the allocation of its housing stock to Orthodox Jewish families. However, in reaching that conclusion, Lord Sales, giving the leading judgment, made a number of points of wider importance.’

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UKSC Blog, 4th April 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

‘Conversion therapy’: Ban to go-ahead but not cover trans people – BBC News

‘The government insists it will ban so-called conversion therapy for gay or bisexual people in England and Wales – but not for transgender people.’

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BBC News, 1st April 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK’s draft refugee and police laws are ‘human rights vandalism’, says Amnesty – The Guardian

Posted March 29th, 2022 in bills, human rights, news, police, refugees by sally

‘The government’s attack on fundamental rights and protections enshrined in UK law is an “act of human rights vandalism” that would curtail the ability of people to hold the state to account, Amnesty International has claimed.’

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The Guardian, 29th March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK High Court rules blanket seizure of asylum seekers’ phones breached Article 8 ECHR – EIN Blog

‘On 25 March 2022, the UK High Court ruled that the Home Office acted unlawfully and breached human rights and data protection laws by operating a secret, blanket policy of seizing, retaining and extracting data from the mobile phones of asylum seekers arriving by small boat to UK shores between April and November 2020.’

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EIN Blog, 25th March 2022

Source: www.ein.org.uk

The Court of Protection and transparency – Local Government Lawyer

‘Lauren Gardner analyses a Court of Protection ruling on whether proceedings in relation to a 21-year-old woman should be open to the public and whether the judgment should be published.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Extinction Rebellion vicar protester has conviction quashed – BBC News

‘A vicar who took part in a peaceful Extinction Rebellion demonstration outside a Ministry of Defence site has had her conviction quashed.’

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BBC News, 24th March 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

A UK Bill of Rights? – London Review of Books

Posted March 23rd, 2022 in consultations, human rights, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘The United Kingdom​ might soon have its first bill of rights since the English Bill of Rights of 1688. On 14 December last year, the government published the much anticipated Independent Human Rights Act Review (IHRAR), which sets out the conclusions of a ten-month inquiry by an independent panel of experts into the operation of the Human Rights Act 1998. At the same time, the Ministry of Justice issued a consultation document, “Human Rights Act Reform: A Modern Bill of Rights”, the proposals of which bear no resemblance to the recommendations of the IHRAR (the consultation period ended on 8 March). Influenced, it seems, by Dominic Raab’s appointment as secretary of state for justice in the September reshuffle, the Ministry of Justice consultation document sets out a proposal that it describes, accurately, as “far-reaching”. By my count, 21 of the 29 questions it poses are not considered in the IHRAR. The whole document is founded on the decision to “replace” the Human Rights Act with a bill of rights, something not considered by the IHRAR panel (which noted in passing that it detected no depth of support for one).’

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London Review of Books, 24th March 2022

Source: www.lrb.co.uk

Enacting ECHR compliant measures to confiscate property: imposing sanctions on Russian oligarchs for the invasion of Ukraine – Property Law Blog

‘In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there have been widespread calls to expand the sanctions imposed on Russian oligarchs linked to President Vladmir Putin. According to reporting by the Financial Times, civil servants are currently “examining very carefully” what powers are needed to “swiftly acquire specific land and property owned by a sanctioned person, without the need to pay them compensation.”’

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Property Law Blog, 11th March 2022

Source: www.law.ox.ac.uk

Should Access To The Internet Be A Human Right? – Each Other

Posted March 21st, 2022 in coronavirus, human rights, internet, news by sally

‘A right to internet access might sound trivial to some, but for many people access to the internet continues to provide a lifeline. Even after national Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, many people remain dependant on the internet as a means of accessing medication, food, an education and a source of income.’

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Each Other, 17th March 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Conall Mallory: Beyond Fantasy Island: The British solution to the extraterritorial conundrum – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘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 would “seek to address with partners in Strasbourg”. The Independent Human Rights Act Review (IHRAR) took a similar approach, suggesting a settlement at the Council of Europe, augmented by judicial dialogue. Simultaneously the Ministry of Justice consultation on replacing the HRA with a Bill of Rights sought input on how best to take the issue forward for a state-based solution. At the end of February Robert Buckland, the former Justice Secretary, gave a lecture where he called upon the government to take the issue to Strasbourg for a new protocol.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 16th March 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Police acted unlawfully over Everard vigil, court rules – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Metropolitan Police unlawfully failed to consider whether the right to protest provided a “reasonable excuse” under coronavirus restrictions to organise a vigil for murder victim Sarah Everard, the High Court ruled today.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th March 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Why The Human Rights Act Matters To The Rule of Law – Each Other

Posted March 11th, 2022 in human rights, news, rule of law by tracey

‘The rule of law is one of the most frequently invoked yet least understood ideas of legal and political thought. But it is not just lawyers and politicians who have an interest in it. It affects everyday issues and everyone has a stake in the rule of law.’

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Each Other, 10th March 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Devolved powers and the internal market post-Brexit – UK Human Rights Blog

‘R (on the Application of the Counsel General for Wales) v Secretary of State for business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWCA Civ 118. The Court of Appeal decision handed down on 9th February 2022 is an important case concerning devolved powers.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd March 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Disabled people ‘given 12 days’ to respond to human rights consultation – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Disability and human rights groups have called for a consultation on controversial human rights reforms to be extended, telling the lord chancellor that disabled people have been given less than a fortnight to respond. The Ministry of Justice has apologised for the long wait for a ‘fully accessible’ document.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 2nd March 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Supreme Court to hear appeal over ruling by coroner that Article 2 ECHR not engaged where vulnerable woman died – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal over a coroner’s ruling that Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Right to life) was not engaged in a case where a vulnerable, 52-year-old woman with Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities died.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Will The UK Welcome People Fleeing Putin’s War In Ukraine? – Each Other

‘As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, questions rage, alongside the war, about how the UK should protect Ukrainians seeking refuge.’

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Each Other, 1st March 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Autumn Ellis: Lawfulness of policies of public bodies and Freedom of Expression under Article 10 ECHR – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted March 1st, 2022 in freedom of expression, hate crime, human rights, news, police by sally

‘Thirty five years after Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech AHA (Gillick) was decided, the Supreme Court took the opportunity, in R (A) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (A) and R (BF (Eritrea)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department(BF), (previously discussed in this blog here), to restate the boundaries of the test for the lawfulness of policies published by public bodies, and to identify as erroneous cases which had relied on “other principles” (A at [54]). Lords Sales and Burnett, giving the leading judgment in both cases, drew a distinction between policies which can be regarded as “sanctioning” (by statement or omission), and those which are simply capable of “leading” to, unlawful decision-making. They summarised the Gillick test as follows: “Does the policy in question authorise or approve unlawful conduct by those to whom it is directed?” (A at [38]) (referred to here as the “authorisation/ approval test”). Distinct formulations of the lawfulness test relied on in previous cases, which turn on whether a given policy can be regarded as “leading” to an “unacceptable risk” of unlawful decision-making (referred to here as the “unacceptable risk test”), were incorrect to the extent that they constituted a departure from Gillick (A at [75]).’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 28th February 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org