In previous blogs (see links at the bottom of this article), we discussed the progress of the controversial Bill of Rights championed by former Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab.
During Justice questions in Parliament on 27 June 2023, Alex Chalk, the current Justice Secretary, said:
“Having carefully considered the government’s legislative programme in the round, I can inform the House that we have decided not to proceed with the Bill of Rights, but the government remain committed to a human rights framework that is up to date, fit for purpose and works for the British people. We have taken and are taking action to address specific issues with the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European convention, including through the Illegal Migration Bill, the Victims and Prisoners Bill, the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021 and the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, the last of which addressed vexatious claims against veterans and the armed forces. It is right that we recalibrate and rebalance our constitution over time, and that process continues.”
As anticipated, that is therefore officially the end of the Bill of Rights. That is not, however, the same as there being no Human Rights protection in the UK. Rather the original Human Rights Act, which was passed in 1998 with a view to bringing in the protections set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, endures the test of time. The Government’s likely aim of trying to amend the Human Rights legislation is to remove any scenario where the European Court of Justice can influence law in the UK.
Whilst the UK has officially departed from the European Union, maintaining the status quo is no bad thing. The Human Rights Act has been in existence for the last 25 years. It has been tried and tested and there is a raft of case law that is entirely helpful to lawyers when advising on the implications of Governmental steps being taken. Uncertainty breeds more litigation, which would most likely prove very costly for the Government in the medium to longer term.
Whilst the Human Rights Act is only enforceable against state-run entities, that also includes the Courts. Accordingly, when decisions are reached by any Court in the UK, compliance with the Human Rights Act is always a key requirement for any judge. Accordingly, a substantial change to the Human Rights Act and the uncertainty that would bring could well have had wide-reaching implications for all individuals that have contact with the justice system.
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Kevin Modiri is a Partner in our expert Dispute Resolution team, specialising in commercial disputes, insolvency, inheritance disputes, data breach claims and defamation claims.
If you have any questions concerning the subjects discussed in this article, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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