Rights in the UK Flashcards
(16 cards)
How are they protected by pressure groups? : Stonewall
Insider groups to develop protective legislation: Stonewall use of insider contacts to influence policy eg. equalising age of consent in the Sexual Offences Act 2000.
How are they protected by pressure groups? : Care4Calais
Care4Calais stated that the Rwanda Bill violated the HRA; successful in undermining bill since human rights challenges acknowledged in the European Court of Human Rights.
How are they protected by pressure groups? : Trade Unions
Trade Unions impactful in protecting workers’ rights eg. 2024 Rail strikes; strong union results in high wages for those working in the rail network.
How are they protected by pressure groups? : Outsider groups
Outsider groups impactful in campaigning and bringing attention, eg. 2020 BLM protests.
How are pressure groups’ impacts over rights limited? - failed campaigns against government legislation
Government have the ultimate power over what legislation is passed.
The Policing, Crime and Sentencing Act, which limited rights to protest, passed in 2022 despite massive popular protest against it: #killthebill and criticisms from human rights groups like Liberty.
How are pressure groups’ impacts over rights limited? - lack of government support
Howard League for penal reform was a failure, despite popular demand for its cause.
How does government protect rights? : LGBT
-Passing of legislation eg. Gordon Brown’s equality Act 2010; coalition legalised same sex marriage in 2013
How does government protect rights? : Collective rights
-Protection of collective rights through covid-19 lockdowns (though individual freedom of movement restricted.)
-Blair detaining terror suspects.
How does government protect rights? : Voting laws down
-Can prevent laws which hinder rights- eg. HoL and HoC voted down Blair’s proposal to allow police to hold terrorist suspects for 90 days without charge; compromise at 28 days.
Evidence of government hindering rights: protest rights
-Tories restricted individual rights eg. Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act restricts protest deemed as ‘unacceptable’ by the Home Secretary.
-PCSC Act furthered by Public Order Act 2023.
-Led to 60 activists arrested during a Just Stop Oil Protest 2023.
Evidence of government hindering rights: Individual rights
- Hinder to individual freedom of movement during Covid-19.
-New Labour detainment of terror suspects without trial.
Evidence of government hindering rights: Undermining court protections
-Tories proposed leaving the ECHR and replacing the Human Rights Act.
Judiciary as efficient in protecting human rights: HRA
-HRA 1998 entrenched ECHR into UK law, creating a rights- based culture in the UK.
-All new legislation must be in line with the HRA; joint committee to scrutinise laws to ensure compliancy.
Judiciary as efficient in protecting human rights: HRA in practice
A vs Secretary of state for the home department declared part of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 incompatible with the HRA- detainments seen as discriminatory.
Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 introduced as a result to fix it.
Judiciary as ineffective in upholding human rights: Parliamentary sovereignty
Judges can’t legally compel parliament to change laws and since the HRA isn’t entrenched it can be reversed.
Gov can also change the law when their acts are illegal- to make acts legal. Eg. SORA 2024, to make the tories’ Rwanda policy legal.
Judiciary as ineffective in upholding human rights: Potentially illegitimate
Unelected yet able to interpret/ make rulings about acts of an elected body.
