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A British Bill of Rights – Informing the Debate

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A British Bill of Rights – Informing the Debate A British Bill of Rights Informing the debate The report of the JUSTICE constitution committee 50th Anniversary 1957–2007 JUSTICE – 50 years of defending the rule of law JUSTICE is an independent law reform and human rights organisation. It works largely through policy-orientated research; interventions in court proceedings; education and training; briefings, lobbying and policy advice. It is the British section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). JUSTICE relies heavily on the help of its members and supporters for the funds to carry out its work. For more information visit www. justice.org.uk. JUSTICE, 59 Carter Lane, London EC4V 5AQ 020 7329 5100 [email protected] www.justice.org.uk © JUSTICE 2007 ISBN 978 0 907247 43 2 Designed by Adkins Design A British Bill of Rights JUSTICE Contents Committee and acknowledgements ............................................................................. 6 Foreword ........................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter one - Introduction ........................................................................................... 9 The political context ....................................................................................................................................... 9 The historical context ................................................................................................................................... 11 The constitutional context ............................................................................................................................ 12 The current system for protecting rights ....................................................................................................... 13 Building a culture of human rights ............................................................................................................... 15 What is a bill of rights? ................................................................................................................................. 15 What is a ‘British bill of rights’? .................................................................................................................... 16 Rights and responsibilities ............................................................................................................................. 17 Constitutional implications of a new bill of rights ......................................................................................... 18 The structure of the report ........................................................................................................................... 19 Concluding remarks ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter two - Content ................................................................................................ 21 The legal and political status of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) ................................... 23 The ECHR – a floor, not a ceiling, of rights protection .................................................................................. 24 Torture ......................................................................................................................................................... 24 Building on the ECHR: what are the options? ............................................................................................... 25 a) Modernising and strengthening the ECHR ........................................................................................ 25 i) Reduction of specific limitations ..................................................................................................... 25 ii) Limitation clauses .......................................................................................................................... 26 iii) Unratified Protocols ...................................................................................................................... 27 iv) ‘Updating’ rights .......................................................................................................................... 30 Childrens rights ................................................................................................................................. 30 Surveillance and data protection ....................................................................................................... 30 Equality on the basis of sexual orientation ......................................................................................... 31 The environment ............................................................................................................................... 32 b) Traditional and common law domestic rights .................................................................................... 34 i) Access to courts ............................................................................................................................. 35 ii) Trial by jury ................................................................................................................................... 37 iii) Good administration ..................................................................................................................... 38 c) Economic, social and cultural rights .................................................................................................. 40 i) Progressive realisation .................................................................................................................... 41 ii) Directive Principles of State Policy ................................................................................................. 42 iii) Equality ........................................................................................................................................ 43 iv) Other approaches ensuring a ‘minimum core’ guarantee ............................................................. 43 v) Judicial competence in socio-economic issues ............................................................................... 44 vi) Recent UK cases of interest ........................................................................................................... 44 d) Rights contained in international and other bills of rights .................................................................. 46 Childrens rights ................................................................................................................................. 46 e) Tales of caution ................................................................................................................................. 49 Back to the beginning – a ‘people’s preamble’? ........................................................................................... 50 3 JUSTICE A British Bill of Rights Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 51 Chapter three - Amendment and derogation ............................................................ 53 Procedures for direct amendment to a bill of rights ...................................................................................... 54 a) Amending the Parliament Acts .......................................................................................................... 55 b) Requirement of special voting majorities ........................................................................................... 55 c) Referendum ....................................................................................................................................... 56 d) A simple declaration against amendment .......................................................................................... 57 Emergency derogations ................................................................................................................................ 58 Amending the current HRA ........................................................................................................................... 59 Introducing a ‘declaration’ or ‘code’ of rights ............................................................................................... 61 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter four - Adjudication and enforcement ........................................................... 65 Models of enforcement ................................................................................................................................ 66 a) Judicial enforcement with Supreme Court strike-down power ............................................................ 66 i) The American model ...................................................................................................................... 66 Judicial interpretation and judicial supremacy – the US experience ................................................... 67 ii) The European constitutional court model ...................................................................................... 68 Judicial interpretation and judicial supremacy – the continental European experience ....................... 69 An alternative model – Parliamentary bills of rights ...............................................................................
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