Rights in context Flashcards
Civil rights
Encompass the rights that individuals and the public are all entitled to
Individual rights
Are rights such as the right to privacy and freedom of expression which all individuals can claim
Collective rights
Are those which society can claim such as **the right to be protected from violence, the right to clean enviroment and the right to roam the countryside **
What are uk civil rights protected by?
- The Magna Carta 1215 - provides the foundation for british civil rights stating that law should be impartial and that no free man should be convicted of crime unless fairly tried
- Supreme court Bill of rights 1689
- Acts of parliament Somerset v Stewart
- Entick v Carrington
- Representation of people act 1928 - this established the principle of univerisal suffrage in the UK
Human rights since 1997
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Freedom of information act 2000
- Equality act 2010
Human Rights Act 1998
Incorporates the european convention on human rights into UK law
Came into force in 2000
British citizens now state a clear statement of their civil liberties which is enforceable in British courts
The HRA clearly establishes the positive rights that we are all equally eligible for, such as the right to life and the right to fair hearing
Freedom of information act 2000
This established a right to access to information held by public bodies so as long as it does not compromise national security
The act provides the public with the opportunity to know more about the way in which public bodies such as the National Health Service operates aswell as being able to operate the information held about them
E.g. the MPS expenses scandal in 2009 was exposed through this act
Equality act 2010
Previous Race relations act, The equal pay act 1970
Equality act 2010 established equality for all citizens and consolidates exisiting legislation and states that in public life discrimination is illegal in: Age, Disibility, Gender reassignment, Race, Religion and belief, Sex, Sexual orientation, Marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity
Civic responsiblity
Civic responsibility is the duty to participate in and support the well-being of one’s community or society.
E.g. Voting in elections, paying taxes
Civic restrictions
Actions of individuals can be restricted if they feel that they will harm or endanger collective good of society
Usually when there is a threat to national security
Acts to restrict civil liberties?
The anti terrorism crime and security act 2001
ATCSA 2001 - gave the govt legal power to imprision foreign terrorist suspects indefinitely without trial
Crime and police act 2005
Limited the right of protest outside parliament and created a new offence of inciting religious hatred
Investigatory powers act 2016
Authorises the retention of personal electronic data and its access for law enforcement
Terrorism act 2005
Extended the time for which terrorist suspects can be held without charge to 28 days and made glorifying terrorism a crime
The 2020 ed bridges and liberty case
Brought a case against south wales police over whether it could use automatic facial recognition technology in its judgement the court of appeal ruled that more care should be taken in how tech is used however benefits to society potentialy great and threats to individual privacy minor
Collective v indiviudal rights
Johnsons government police,crime, sentencing and courts act 2022
The act designed to limit impact of public protesters and thus has generated signifcant oppostion from civil liberties groups
Johnson govt bill of rights
Johnsons govt controversially in the queens speech committed to introdcuing a british bill of rights replacing certain elements of hra
Rwanda policy
Tension between individual and collective rights?
Lee v Asher baking company
Freedom of information act
The FOIA allowed UK citizens to access some information held by UK public institutions. However, some information, for example relating to national security cannot be accessed.
The data protection act 1984
The Data Protection Act protected the personal information that public organisations held.
ECHR
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), 1953:
The ECHR was signed by the UK in 1951, and came into force in 1953. Signing this meant that all UK government actions needed to be in compliance with the ECHR
Includes articles such as the right to life, and the right to freedom from torture.
European Court of Justice, 1973:
After the UK joined the European Economic Community, the European Court of Justice protected the rights of UK workers.
Magna carta
Magna Carta, 1215:
Restrictions were imposed on the monarchy to stop the monarch from abusing power.
Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights, 1689:
The Bill of Rights introduced more limits on the power of the monarchy.
The Bill of Rights also introduced rights of parliament such as free elections and, parliamentary free speech
Bill of rights
An example of HRA in action?
bu Qatada, a Jordanian national who was deemed to have connections to terrorist groups, was not able to be deported in 2012 because evidence used against him was gained through torture.
After the Hillsborough disaster, families of victims used the Human Rights Act to force an in-depth inquiry into the deaths.
HRA effective at protecting rights?
The Human rights Act meant that rights became enshrined in a clear way in statute.
The Human Rights Act must be complied with by legislation.
The Human Rights Act has meant that citizens can ensure the protection of their rights through courts in the UK.
The HRA ineffefctive at protecting rights?
As the Human Rights Act has not been entrenched it can be replaced and so does not offer sufficient protection of rights and liberties.
The Conservative Party has planned to replace the Human Rights Act with a ‘British Bill of Rights’.
The Human Rights Act is limited in its protection as it cannot overturn legislation which has been made in parliament.
The government can ‘set aside’ the Human Rights Act.
The rights of terror suspects were set aside after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Rights based culture
All laws passed must comply with the Human Rights Act, which has led to some arguing that the UK has a ‘rights-based culture’.
Judges can use the Human Rights Act to declare existing laws unfit, which promotes human rights in UK society and lawmaking.
What are the conflicts between individual and collective rights?
The Human Rights Act protects individuals rather than UK citizenship collectively.
Protecting individual rights is seen as a good thing because it enables a free and fair society, and protects individuals who may face oppression.
But, if individual rights are protected at the expense of collective rights, there can be restrictions on actions that can be taken to protect the public.
Examples of rights conflict
For example, some criminals in the UK have not been extradited (handed over to law enforcement where the crimes were committed) because of the Human Rights Act.
Some may consider this a threat to the collective rights of liberty and security.
After 9/11, the government wished to detain terror suspects without trial, but this was ruled against by the Law Lords, because it was seen as discrimination.
