Rights and Liberties Flashcards
what are rights?
rights are legally protected freedoms and entitlements to have or do something
arguments to suggest that rights are upheld and protected in the UK
protected by numerous pieces of legislation
upheld by judicial review
protected by parliament and its sovereignty
arguments to suggest that rights are not upheld and protected in the UK
legislation often places individual rights over the rights of society
judicial review places too much power in the hands of unelected judges
parliamentary sovereignty actually means that parliament can repeal rights at any time, thus threatening rights rather than upholding them
conclusion
more often than not, rights are sufficiently upheld
therefore, it can be argued that rights and liberties are protected in the UK
examples of rights being upheld by legislation: the Human Rights Act 1998
the Human Rights Act 1998 was passed by New Labour under Tony Blair and incorporated the ECHR into UK law
it includes the right to fair and equal treatment before the law, freedom of expression and freedom from arbitrary arrest
this 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 highly time-consuming and expensive
why are rights easier to defend under the HRA?
rights under the HRA are easier to defend because the act was the first that clearly set out citizens’ rights into one single document, thus allowing citizens to clearly establish what rights they actually possess and when these have been infringed and ensure that these rights are enforceable by allowing them to be defended in UK courts
what must all new legislation be compliant with?
it has often been suggested that the UK has a rights-based culture as all new legislation must be compliant with the HRA – our culture is clearly heavily based on and values the rights of its citizens
examples of rights being upheld by legislation: the Equality Act 2010
rights are also upheld by the Equality Act 2010, which attempted to bring together the various pieces of legislation – such as the 1970 Equal Pay Act and the 1976 Race Relations Act – that sought to outlaw discrimination and unfair treatment into one Act of Parliament
it identified nine protected characteristics including race, sexual orientation and age, making it illegal to discriminate against people based on any of these characteristics in the workplace and wider society
these pieces of legislation demonstrate that rights are now better protected and upheld than ever before
why does legislation sometimes mean that rights are not sufficiently protected?
it can be argued that rights are not well-protected by such legislation because the HRA sometimes favours undeserving individuals rather than upholding the rights of the wider community
example of legislation protecting a potentially dangerous individual over wider society: Abu Qatada
Abu Qatada was a radical Muslim living in London who had made numerous speeches justifying the use of violence to promote the Islamist cause
he had served time in British jail and the security services regarded him as a threat, believing it to be in in the country’s best interests to deport him back to Jordan where he was wanted for trial
but his legal team fought the deportation for 8 years on the grounds that he may be tortured for information to be used as evidence in trial if he was deported, which breached the HRA clause on freedom from torture
therefore, he was protected under the HRA despite being a security threat
what was the Abu Qatada case an example of?
the right of wider society to be protected from threats to security was not protected, instead a potentially dangerous individual was safeguarded by the act
how are rights upheld by the judiciary?
the increased use of judicial review suggests that rights are strongly protected and upheld in the UK
the number of reviews rose from around 4000 in 2000 to over 15,000 by 2013
these reviews allow the judiciary to defend rights and uphold civil liberties by scrutinising government policy and reviewing the lawfulness of a decision or action of a public body
this is very important in holding the government to account and essential in protecting rights and the rule of law as it can prevent an elective dictatorship
what has enhanced the powers of judicial review?
since the introduction of the HRA, the courts have an increased ability to do this as they can review government actions that are incompatible with the ECHR and make a declaration of incompatibility if those actions threaten the rights set out in the HRA
thus ensuring that the government does not overstep its powers (known as ultra vires) and violate civil rights.
example of the judiciary upholding rights and holding the government to account
the Belmarsh case of 2004 in which nine suspected terror suspects had been held for several years without a trial in Belmarsh prison under the Crime and Security Act 2001, which contradicts the right to a fair trial
they appealed against their detention and the Supreme Court ruled that the 2001 Act was incompatible with the ECHR
as a result, the government chose to heed the judges’ warning and release the prisoners
this suggests that rights are well protected by the judiciary in the UK
how does the judiciary threaten our rights rather than protect them?
judicial review does not adequately uphold our rights because it placed too much power in the hands of unelected and unaccountable judges
such unaccountability gives rise to the risk of the judiciary overstepping its role, trespassing on that of the executive and legislature, and abusing its power to interpret the law, thus putting our rights at risk rather than protecting them because these laws are vital in upholding rights
these unaccountable forces are making huge judgements which have wide political and social implications, particularly on our rights, which can be dangerous if they overstep their role and behave tyrannically
there are also issues about whether they should be able to interpret laws that are vital to upholding citizens’ rights in the first place due to their unelected and unaccountable nature
