1.4 Rights Flashcards
3
Rights are…
absolute, fundamental and universal
3
Magna Carta
- Oldest written statement of rights (1215)
- established trial by jury and habeas corpus
- signifies rule of law
3
Describe the Equality Act 2010
- Can’t discriminate against people for ‘protected characteristics’: race, sexuality
- Consolidated and codified all anti discriminatory measures into one document
- Strengthened protection in certain areas
3
HRA 1998
- Codified ECHR into law, entrenching rights
- greater legal protection (people can better challenge decisions and receive legal help)
- securing more democratic freedoms for people (before govts could ignore rights when it suited)
3
Evaluate the view that the HRA effectively protects people’s rights (some can be used for Equality Act + General)
P1: Strengthened capability of judges to uphold civil liberties (e.g. Campbell v Mirror Group News) vs limits to power of judicial review unable to stop New Lab’s creeping authoritarianism
P2: Made ministers take into account civil liberties more with legislation (Grenfell Fire repercussions - right to life, national: building standards + inadequate cladding, local: why safety concerns were ignored) + ultra-vires (e.g. Rwanda Asylum Seekers) vs support for British Bill of Rights - Just Stop Oil, stop and search powers
P3: Educated people about their rights - more cases being taken to court (e.g. ill fated pretty vs United Kingdom 2002 - assisted suicide) vs rights-based culture (e.g. Abu Qataba) - impractical + vexatious legal cases (e.g. R Williamson vs Sec of State for Education - HoL ruling)
3
To what extent are rights effectively protected in the UK? (inc pressure group)
P1: Citizens can better access rights protection - before/after,codification, citizens can access rights protection, Campbell v Mirror Group, strengthened judges capability vs curtailment - rights based culture, HRA non-binding, British Bill of Rights
P2: Judicial review - ‘ultra vires’, can’t overturn but determine lawfulness, Terrorism Act 2000 - stop and search ECHR, ‘creeping authoritarianism’, ind judiciary vs Rwanda - UN told high court that plan was unlawful - upheld, last min ECHR injection
P3: Pressure Groups uphold rights - Howard League (insider), children 70%; Liberty, Snooper’s Charter’s Case 2022, links + financing allow continued influence, consulted on govt policy and sway public vs limited influence due to executive- pop majority rules, despite significance could not stop 4000 new laws, diff govts = diff approaches, prisoner voting
Redrawn points :
- Judiicla
3
To what extent do individual rights override collective rights?
P1: freedom of expression - Gay Cake case upheld by SC (individual) vs freedom from discrimination (collective) e.g. Liberty 2012 gay couple case
P2: right to privacy e.g. Snooper’s Charter Case vs right of community to be protected from terrorism enatced by govt legislation e.g. 42 day detention
P3: right to strike for better conditions + better pay vs right of community to expect good service from public servants who are paid from taxation e.g. Winter 22 strikes
4
Liberty: features
- Pressure group of campaigners, lawyers and policy researcher
- Challenge unjust UK laws
- Funded by trusts, donations, membership fees, legal fees, etc
- Improve lives of marginalise
4
Liberty: methods
create card on whether pressure groups protect rights essay
- Provide evidence to ministers to influence govt policy
- Links with MPs David Davis
- Offer free legal advice
- Media campaigns about HRA, disability and mental health rights, migrant rights, policing
2
Liberty: influence
- 2007-08 - engaged in campaign to challenge 42 day detention clause in counter-terrorism bill - Gordon Brown dropped policy after major defeat in HoL
- Part of campaign to challenge Snooper’s Charter (security services can access personal coms data)
5
Describe liberty’s challenging of the snooper’s charter
- Raised £50k in crowdfunding for legal case
- Brought case to high court of justice in 2018
- Bulk of coms interceptions infringed right to privacy (under EU law)
- Court ruled that the security services have unlawfully been permitted to access data from telecom providers
- Security Services now generally require independent authorisation for accessing private coms when carrying out criminal investigation
3
Howard League for Penal reform: features
- National charity that campaigns for less people in prison, less crime, promotes civil liberties via law
- insider Group - works with parliament and criminal justice professionals (+ Michael Gove gave speech to organisation when Justice Sec)
- £2.5m income 2018-19
3
Howard League: influence
- Books for Prisoner Campaign (2014) - opposed restrictions on prisoner receiving books from friends and family, media campaign with ‘shelfies’ and letter published in The Telegraph, High Court ruled restrictions unlawful by end of 2014
- Opposed 2015 Coalition Govt’s mandatory criminal court charge if convicted - opposed as some poorer criminals could plead guilty, even if innocent, to reduce overall costs, charge dropped within 4 months
- Programmes reduced children imprisonment by circa 70% 2010-19
4
Describe votes for prisoners
- In 2004, case brought by Hirst, a convicted murderer to give prisoners the right to vote
- ECHR ruled that the blanket ban on prisoner voting broke the Human Rights Bill 1998
- Prison Reform Trust and Unlocked launched ‘barred from voting’ campaign
- In 2017, the UK govt stated that prisoners could vote while released on temporary licence - only affects a few hundred people
2
Describe limits to votes for prisoners
- David Cameron said idea made him ‘physically ill’
- Lack of parliamentary and public support
