D&P: Rights in Context Flashcards
What are rights?
Rights are legally protected freedoms. Civil Liberties.
They are absolute, universal and fundamental. In the UK they were historically unwritten but are now guaranteed by the 1998 HRA. It is generally accepted that rights might have to be limited in times of war or other major national emergencies such as freedom of movement during COVID 19
What do rights in the UK include?
- Fair and equal treatment under the law
- Freedom of Expression
- Freedom of Conscience
- Right to vote
- Freedom of movement
- Social Rights: such as education, employment and healthcare etc.
What are civic responsibilities and obligations?
- Legal obligations: obeying the law, jury service and paying taxes.
- Moral responsibilities: voting in elections and protecting the environment (don’t really have to do it)
How were rights prior to the HRA 1998?
There was no single document setting out citizen’s rights, instead, there were negative rights (things people could do provided the law didn’t prohibit it.). For example, people had the right to freedom of expression as long as it complied with laws against defamation and blasphemy. Some rights were protected by acts of parliament and others by common law etc.
How is the UK said to have a rights-based culture?
Since the HRA, it is often claimed this because all new legislation must be compatible with the HRA and judges can declare earlier acts of parliament as incompatible with it (but they can’t obligate parliament to make changes bc of parliamentary sovereignty).
How are rights protected in the UK?
Bc the UK doesn’t have a codified constitution, the rights of citizens aren’t protected by an entrenched bill of rights, like in the US. Instead they are protected through parliamentary legislation, pressure groups, common law etc.
What are the key milestones in the development of rights?
- 1215: Magna Carta: limited royal power and established right to trial by jury.
- 1950: ECHR: Drawn up by the council of Europe and they set up the Court in Strasbourg to hear cases where people felt their rights had been infringed in their own countries. This was expensive and time consuming so people could only do it if they were rich or had the backing of an interest group.
- 1998: HRA
What is the Human Rights Act?
It was passed by new Labour in 1998 and enshrined the ECHR into UK law. It includes the right to life, fair trial, privacy and a family life.
What are the positives of the HRA?
- The UK has developed a ‘rights-based’ culture as all new legislation must be compatible with it. E.g. A v Secretary of State for the Home Department, part of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was declared incompatible as it violated articles 5 and 14 by permitting the detention of suspected international terrorists in a way that discriminated on grounds of nationality or immigration status.
- It places Public Authorities under an obligation to treat everyone with fairness and equality.
- It educates citizens about their rights and makes them more high profile in the political system.
- Rather than having to go to Strasbourg to have rights defended, more people could do it locally as it was now enforceable in UK courts.
What are the negatives of the HRA?
- It favours undeserving individuals rather than protecting legitimate freedoms of UK citizens and protecting society as a whole because critics argue it stops terror suspects from being deported. E.g. Abu Qatada, a radical muslim cleric, who had advocated for use of violence to promote the islamist cause and spent some time in british jail, was wanted by the security services to be deported to jordan where he was wanted for trial. However, his legal advisors managed to delay this for 8 years because he might be tried using evidence obtained through torture, a breach of the HRA.
- It has also been criticised for giving unelected judges too much power.
- It is not entrenched and could still be repealed by a simple act of parliament, whilst also not being binding on parliament.
What is the freedom of information act?
2000, Made it easier for opposition MPs, journalists and voters to ask for info about the gov. Members of the public also gained the right to access any information held about them by public bodies. e.g. Parliamentary expenses scandal 2009.
What is the Equality Act?
2010, brought together earlier pieces of legislation that had sought to outlaw discrimination and unfair treatment. It identifies 9 protected characteristics and made it illegal for public bodies, employers, service providers and other organisations and individuals to discriminate against people on any of these grounds, in the workplace or in society. They are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
What is Stonewall and what have they done to protect rights/civil liberties?
Stonewall is a charity and pressure group in the UK that campaigns for LGBT rights. It was formed and was an outsider group in 1989 in opposition to section 28 of the 1988 Local government act introduced by Thatcher’s gov which prohibited the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities. When New Labour came into power, it became an insider group and used their influence on policy development. As a result, they caused a number of important legal changes: challenged the banning of homosexuality in the armed forces by taking the legislation to the ECHR and was lifted by the gov in 2000. They also helped introduce the Civil Partnership Act in 2004.
What is Care4Calais and what have they done to protect rights/civil liberties?
They are a charity that delivers aid to refugees in Calais and other areas affected by the European migrant crisis, and campaigns for refugee rights in the UK. They have been key in fighting legal challenges on behalf of migrants in the UK threatened with deportation to Rwanda following a deal between the UK and Rwandan governments. They argue that it is unsafe to send people to Rwanda and it violates the HRA, due to factors such as discriminatory access to asylum for different groups in Rwanda, especially LGBT people. It had notable success in June 2022, when the first planned deportation flight to Rwanda was emptied one by one due to successful HR legal challenges. This was successful and the deportation was never followed through.
What is Liberty and what have they done to protect rights/civil liberties in the UK?
They are a PG that campaigns to protect civil liberties and HR in the UK. In the last 5 years, it has largely focused on challenging the investigatory powers act 2016 in the High Court and challenging hostile environment policies for immigrants to the UK. The act expanded the electronic surveillance powers of the UK police and intelligence services and the High Court ruled it violated EU law (when the UK was still in the EU) which forced the gov to amend the legislation.
What is the Howard League for Penal Reform and what have they done to protect rights/civil liberties?
They advocate for the rights of prisoners, they have struggled in success because they don’t have much support from the public. They have been unsuccessful in getting prisoners the vote but they have been successful in relatively minor issues like the High Court ruling for the gov to drop its ban on prisoners’ families sending them books.
What is judicial review?
A type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body. Courts have the power to ensure those in power have not acted ultra vires (beyond the law).
What are arguments for judicial review?
- JR is a vital means of defending citizens’ rights, enabling the legality of gov actions to be scrutinised.
What are the arguments against Judicial Review?
- It places too much power in the hands of unelected and unaccountable judges, who are able to ‘make law’.
What is an example of Judicial Review in relation to the HRA?
The issue of privacy. Judges have been accused of creating a privacy law through the way they have interpreted the HRA, often giving supremacy to Article 8 of the ECHR (right to privacy) over article 10 (freedom of expression).
How does parliament/government defend rights?
- Introducing legislation that protects it. E.g. Equality Act, HRA, legalising same-sex marriage.
- Parliament prevents the gov from encroaching HR by voting down bills such as the HoL.
- Parliament and the gov can be argued to often contravene HR in the UK, e.g. with anti-terrorism.
What was the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and why was it controversial among HR groups?
The PCSCA was controversial because it gave greater powers to the police and criminal justice system to impose restriction on ‘unacceptable protests’ among other things. It gave the home secretary significant powers to decide the type of protest deemed unacceptable and acceptable by the state. It infringed freedom of expression and speech.
What is an example of the gov being a threat to human rights?
The proposed changes to the HRA by the conservative government. At various points, the Con party has backed replacing the HRA with a British Bill of Rights which was criticised by hundreds of HR groups for seeking to remove rights in the UK. The proposed Bill of Rights would make it easier to deport foreign criminals by elevating public safety over the right to family life and would increase freedom of the press by elevating the right to freedom of expression over the right to privacy.
How can collective and individual rights be seen to conflict?
This is in relation to public safety and security where the protection of the population is often used to justify the encroachment of rights of individuals.
