UK Constituion: Proiection Of Human Rights Flashcards
How well does the British constitution protect rights ? Protects well
-there is formal support of human rights by the government for example every parliamentary act contains a declaration that the act complies with the human rights act 1998
-current legislation provides a strong legal protection for core rights via the interlinked HRA and European Convention on Human Rights mechanisms. The HRA incorporates the ECHR into UK law
-the UK has a relatively strong institutional framework for protecting rights which extends beyond the courts including the equalities and human rights commission which often brings cases under the equality act 2010.
It’s doesn’t not protect them well ?
-little political consensus exist between parties as to the actual substance of human rights guarantees. The existing frameworks of UK legal rights protection is vulnerable to political attack with conservative calls for a British bill of rights
-Brexit is removing the safety net for certain non-discrimination migrant and labour rights formerly provided by EU law
-UK government have been repeatedly able to introduce and pass legislation diluting rights protection, especially in areas like national security with recent anti-terror laws and measures that seek to reform immigration and entitlement to social benefits and housing
-social and economic rights for example to receive appropriate healthcare, are seen by some as poorly established and weakly protected
What does UK rights not being entrenched mean ?
-in theory parliament could repeal the ECHR and Human Rights act 1998, also now that the UK has left Brexit they would withdraw from the ECHR ad many conservative have argued to drop off and draw up a British bill of rights
What example are there when reformers argued for a modern,codified constitution ?
Brexit between 2017 and 2019 parliament and the government appeared incapable of finding a way forward despite the various options of a second referendum, a Brexit deal, a no-deal Brexit or calling another election
In this event the December 2019 election returned a government with a strong majority, Brexit was achieved
Give an example when individual rights of believe clashed with collective rights of LGTBQ+ community ?
-the case involved Asher Baking Company ltd in Northern Ireland, the owner of were prosecuted for refusing to bake a cake for a gay rights activist who had asked them to incorporate the slogan ‘support gay marriage’
-in October 2018 the Supreme Court overturned the judgement of lower courts that the bakery was guilty of discrimination, the argument was that the bakery did not discriminate against the customer who happens to be gay but against the message on the cake, which they could have objected regardless of the customers sexual orientation.
What does this show ?
This is an example of how the individual right to free speech or expression can prevail over the collective rights of a particular group
How does individual rights clash with collective rights under the case study of female circumcision?
-Female circumcision is a common practise among certain communities in parts of Africa and the Middle East, it is a practise clearly at the odds with most countries cultural norms and values
-Under UK child safeguarding rules, schools and social services are required by law to report immediately to the police any suspected cases of FGM which is illegal under the female genital mutilation act 2003
What does this show ?
This result in a potential clash between the individual rights of a citizen to follow cultural practices and the collective right of wider UK society who rightly see the practise as a form of child abuse.
What is the Uber driver case study ?
-in 2016 two uber drivers sued the firm claiming that they were employees and not as Uber claimed self employed, by claiming employees the drivers would gain entitlement to benefits such as holiday pay and the minimum wage
-they were therefore fighting for collective rights of all uber drivers and were supported in their court case by independent workers union of Great Britain
-however they were opposed not only by uber but also by some of their fellow uber drivers who enjoyed the freedom of being self employed and asserted their individual rights regarding employment statue
What does this show ?
Uber lost its cases and the collective rights of all its workers were protected at the expenses of some individual rights
What examples as there when collective rights of anti terror legislation have been successful challenged ?
In 2004 the courts rules that indefinite detention of suspected theorist broke human rights laws, seemingly favouring individual rights to a fair trial over collective right to protection from terrorist outrage
