paragraph 1 Flashcards
1) one of the most important ways that rights are upheld…
is by the Human Rights Act 1998
2) which was passed by….
New Labour under Tony Blair and incorporated the ECHR into UK law
it includes the right to equal and fair treatment before the law, the freedom from arbitrary arrest and freedom of expression
3) the HRA ensures that rights are upheld…
by allowing these rights to be defended in UK courts rather than having to go to the ECHR in Strasbourg which can be expensive and time consuming
4) rights in the HRA are easier to defend because…
the act was the first genuinely codified element of the constitution that clearly sets out citizens rights into one single document
it can be easily referred to and made explicit when rights have been infringed
5) furthermore, our culture is often referred to as ‘rights based’….
which means that it is heavily based on and values the rights of its citizens
as a result, all new legislation must be compliant with the HRA
6) this demonstrates that…
rights are strongly upheld by the HRA as it both clarifies them, allowing citizens to know what rights they possess and allows them to be enforced
1) contrastingly….
it can be argued that the HRA does not effectively uphold civil rights as it sometimes favours undeserving individuals rather than protecting its own citizens
2) take the case of Abu Qatada…
he was a radical Muslim living in London who had served time in British jail and was regarded as a threat by security services
the security services believed that it was in the country’s best interests to deport him to Jordan where he was wanted for trial
however, his legal team fought the deportation for 8 years on the grounds that Qatada would be tortured for information in Jordan and this goes against the clause in the HRA stating that there is a right to freedom from torture
this meant that he was protected under the act despite being a serious security threat
3) this case illustrates that…
the HRA does not always uphold civil rights as it chose to protect a potentially dangerous individual rather than safeguarding British citizens from a threat of terrorism
4) however, when taking into account both sides of the argument…
it is clear that the HRA does protect rights and there have only been a few exceptions suggesting otherwise
suggesting that civil rights are strongly upheld in the UK
